#BookReview: Rosie’s Garden, Olivia Coates (author), Samantha McLelland (illus.), EK Books, April 2025.
Book description:
A little determination goes a long way in this inspiring story about creating green spaces and building
community.
Review:
When you need a place to meet some friends, enjoy green spaces and have your bucket filled, come to Rosie’s Garden. The warmest, most beautiful and vibrant place to find the community spirit.
This new picture book by talented duo, author Olivia Coates and illustrator Samantha McLelland, is a stunning representation of what it means to work together for the common good of the people around us and the places we live in. This story shows young children how to be thought-leaders and that selfless actions can make a difference, no matter how big or small.
In Rosie’s community garden, there’s Mr Dellagatti who collects seeds, Chad chases rainbows, Annika plays her violin to the pumpkins, and Esmeralda eats worms (it’s okay, she’s the chicken!). And of course, Rosie, who loves to dig! It’s what comes next that makes Rosie the heroine of this story – the Big Boss of a city company decides to redevelop the garden site into a towering skyscraper, and there’s nothing that Rosie can do to stop it. Who will fill Mr Dellagatti’s bucket now? But with her creative thinking and determination, Rosie, together with this Big Boss (who wasn’t big or bossy, after all), come up with a solution to redesign and preserve a sustainable community green space that towers above the rest!
The language Olivia Coates has penned is superb, with its beautiful rhythmic-like narrative including repetition, assonance and onomatopoeia, along with metaphors that make your heart sing (ie.’Thanks for filling my bucket, Rosie.’). This heartfelt story shows us the unequivocal kindness and care for the neighbours and environmental landscape in Rosie’s world, as well as the understanding that change (such as urbanisation) is inevitable, but it’s how we respond that matters most. Samantha McLelland’s watercolours divinely pop with their soft, earthy secondary tones spilling out in the garden space, juxtaposed with the neutrality and straight lines of the cityscape around it. All the while, maintaining that ever-important warmth and friendliness of the characters and their surroundings.
Rosie’s Garden has a lot to offer and is sure to benefit the community of readers, garden-lovers and soil-diggers for years to come. You can grow a garden like Rosie’s, or read about it, anywhere!
Review by Romi Sharp.
Teaching notes (prepared by Romi Sharp for EK Books) can be found at the EK Books website.
Please find Olivia Coates at her website: Children’s Author | Olivia Coates Author and on Instagram.
Please find Samantha McLelland at her website: Samantha McLelland – ART – DESIGN – ILLUSTRATION
Rosie’s Garden is available for purchase through EK Books.
We’d love for our kidlit community to join in to share in the exciting release of Rosie’s Garden with Olivia Coates. This enriching story is sure to unite and empower readers across the globe!
#authorinterview #rosiesgarden #sustainability #community #greenspaces #change #picturebooks #justkidslit
To join in this promotion or for book marketing enquiries please contact info.booksontour@gmail.com
