Gertie's Green Thumb

by Catherine Dexter

Eleven-year-old Gertie, lover of plants and animals, finds a working wishbone in the park and turns her family's home into a magical House of Nature.

Genres: Childrens

118 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1983

Reviews

[Hol]

My friend Kitty wrote this wonderful book about a family that stops cleaning and finds their home transformed into an ecosystem of lush plants and friendly animals. A girl’s magic wish triggers this happy process, which quickly gets out of hand. This made me recall reading about magic when I was little and how the mystery was never that magic exists, but how you were going to make it work for you. (Everyone knows that magic has rules, you just have to discern them.) As an adult, this book made me think about how gardening is so much more gratifying than housecleaning. You dust, and the dust comes back . . . but give time to your garden, and fabulous things happen. This book felt inspired. I’m glad I don’t have to mow the kitchen floor, as this family does, but it would be blissful to have a moonflower blooming over my bed.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my absolute favorite book growing up. It is about a girl who makes a wish and her whole house ends up turning into a wild habitat. Lush green grass carpeting, fruit trees in the living room, birds and butterflies and even an alligator come to live in the house. I enjoyed this so much as a kid and really enjoyed reading it again as an adult (it was hidden in a box with other things I had saved). Still a great read - and I would still love that to be my house.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you like stories with a 'be careful what you wish for' gimmick, imagine a whole novel. This is Dexter's first book, and the only one that she put so much of her soul into, it seems, as the others are so different. Very much emphasis on the theme that we all need more Green in our lives, Back to Nature, Fresh Peas and Raspberries, etc. Which is all very true... but taken here to ridiculous extremes.

Noteworthy are nice lines and insights:
"... the rhythm of brushing [the moose that showed up] was taking away his inclination to fight [bicker]."
"Mrs. Wood was not an ordinary mother... she was like... twenty, all rolled into one. Mrs. Wood had been born with the urge to manage things...."

The thing that (unfortunately) dates this is that the family is automatically honored that the President is interested in their House of Nature. Nowadays, the office itself has much less aura, and I think most folks would be reluctant to accept a visit if they hadn't voted for that person.

It was difficult to find, on google, who the famous naturalist Whittemore was. Apparently it's the Canadian Mabel Frances Whittemore, as mentioned here: https://environmentjournal.ca/nature-... Except that she's not American, as Dexter says.

Anyway, I enjoyed the book enough to recommend it if you're interested in the magic of growing things....

[Marisa James · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a childhood favorite, and when I unpacked it relatively recently after living abroad, I knew that I had to introduce my wife (who grew up in Germany) to this piece of the literature that shaped me. So I read it out loud to her, one chapter each night at bedtime, and it was just as wonderful as it was when I was 7 years old! Highly recommended for even the modern, jaded kids I know in NYC: it’s funny, full of the unexpected, and best of all, absolutely passes the Bechdel test. Hooray!

[Gwen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't know how many times growing up I checked this out from the Enid Public Library, but I was endlessly enchanted by it. Rereading it as an adult, I still wish I lived in Gertie's house, minus maybe the alligator.

[Katherine Cairns · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book when I was a child!

[Anita · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this. Totally unique idea. Read it like eight times haha

[Lisa Feld · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun “what-if” which is much more interested in immersing the reader in the wonder of a house grown into a living ecosystem than in things like plausibility or plot. That’s not at all a bad thing, as the descriptions of touching a moose or eating fresh-picked apricots are vivid and delightful. The illustrations are wonderful as well, and very well suited to the book. I’m someone who needs more focus on characters to fall in love with a book, hence the three-star rating, but that’s just personal taste.

[Rena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another childhood classic, which spent maybe more time on my shelf than in the library.

Gertie's house is scheduled to be torn down to make way for a new road. She finds a wishbone and wishes to save her house. The next day, she tosses some seeds on the ground and finds that they have sprouted indoors! The house grows into a quite a jungle and becomes a tourist attraction - which, of course can't be torn down. In the end, Gertie has to deal with reality and what her house has become.

An imaginative and entertaining book - highly recommended!

[Partridge Public]

Dexter, Catherine

[alison g-a · Rating 5 out of 5]

favorite book as a kid, i just remembered this!

[Sarah Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

Revisiting one of my very favorite childhood books. It’s just as lovely as I remembered, and I don’t think I’ll ever stop secretly wishing for my own home to become a House of Nature.