Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter and Her Island Garden by Root, Phyllis

From an all-star team comes a lyrical picture-book biography about a writer and master gardener who created beauty in a harsh island habitat that was visited by literary and artistic luminaries of her time.

Celia Thaxter grew up on a desolate island off the coast of Maine, where her father worked as lighthouse keeper. Amid the white and gray of the sea, the rocks, and even the birds, young Celia found color where she could: green mosses and purple starfish and pink morning glories by the shore. And she planted her first garden, tucking bright marigolds between rocky ledges. When she was twelve, Celia's family moved to nearby Appledore Island, where her father built a large hotel, and Celia planted a bigger, ever-growing garden with nearly sixty types of flowers, from asters to wisteria.

Guests flocked to the hotel from around the world, among them such writers as Longfellow, Whittier, and Hawthorne. Celia had been writing poems about the island, her garden, and the sea, and they would be printed in magazines and books, making her a foremother of writing about nature. Now, for the first time, Celia Planted a Garden showcases her life and work, in a poetic, vividly imagined picture book from a team of two authors and an illustrator, each recipients of numerous awards. More about Celia Thaxter, including a rich time line and bibliography, awaits readers in the back matter.

Author: Phyllis Root, Gary D. Schmidt
Publisher: Candlewick Press (MA)
Published: 05/17/2022
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 0.93lbs
Size: 8.60h x 11.48w x 0.40d
ISBN: 9781536204292
Audience: Ages 9-12

Review Citation(s):
Booklist 03/01/2022 pg. 40
Kirkus Reviews 03/15/2022
Publishers Weekly 03/28/2022
Horn Book Magazine 05/01/2022 pg. 167
School Library Journal 06/01/2022 pg. 88
BookPage 05/01/2022
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2022 - Superior,Well Above Average

About the Author
Phyllis Root is the award-winning author of more than forty children's books, including the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Big Momma Makes the World, illustrated by Helen Oxenbury, and One Duck Stuck, illustrated by Jane Chapman. Phyllis Root lives in Minnesota.

Gary D. Schmidt is the author of two Newbery Honor Books, Lizzie Bright and the Buckminster Boy and The Wednesday Wars, which also earned a Michael L. Printz Honor, as well as the National Book Award Finalist Okay for Now. He lives in Michigan.

Melissa Sweet is a New York Times best-selling author and has illustrated nearly one hundred children's books. She has received numerous awards, including two Caldecott Honors, the Robert F. Sibert Medal, an Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, and the Schneider Family Book Award. She lives in Maine.