Evie and the Man Who Helped God

by Michael Foreman

This is a beautifully illustrated story showing the seasons in a garden and the creatures that visit there, and introducing the loss of a loved one. Evie loves the garden, especially on Mondays when the old gardener comes. He shows her everything in the garden, introducing her to the robin, the newts, and the frogs. "Do you like making gardens?" She asks. "I don't make gardens, Eve," he says, "God does. I just help." Then one Monday he doesn't come, and Mum says he won't be coming any more. He has gone to help God all the time. But Evie will never forget him and all the things he has taught her.

Genres: Childrens

28 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 2003

About the author

Michael has worked on magazines, book jackets, animated films, TV adverts, and even for the police, sketching criminals described by witnesses. As well as illustrating many of his own books, Michael has illustrated over a hundred books for authors such as Shakespeare, J. M. Barrie, the Brothers Grimm, Charles Dickens and Oscar Wilde. Michael has travelled widely - to Africa, Japan, the Arctic Circle, China and Malaysia, the Himalayas, Siberia and New Zealand - to research his books. "I do a lot of research when I'm travelling - I find it thrilling to discover the particular 'art' of different landscapes and work them into a book. But I find I have to travel by myself, otherwise I'm constantly getting involved in other people's impressions of a place... I try to be invisible when I'm travelling, so I tend to listen in on conversations rather than participate in them - I just want to look and draw."

Reviews

[Skylar Burris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet, quiet story about death.