The Sunflower Garden

by Janice May Udry, Beatrice Darwin (Illustrator)

An Algonkian Indian girl lives in the shadow of her four brothers' achievements until her cultivation of a sunflower garden and an attack on a rattlesnake bring praise from the entire village.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Fiction

37 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1969

About the author

Janice May Udry is an American author. She was born in Jacksonville, Illinois and graduated from Northwestern University in 1950. Her first book, A Tree is Nice, was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1957 for Marc Simont's illustrations. Her papers are held at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Reviews

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a rare find for me. Out of print, but a very compelling story. The Sunflower Garden (1969) by Janice May Udry, will illustrations by Beatrice Darvin, is about a young girl named Pipsa who belongs to a Native American tribe and is always doing hard work for a girl her age but is never acknowledged by her father, the chief. He spends more time with Pipka's brothers and is very proud of them. Then one day, Pipsa decides to start planting sunflower seeds in a patch so that the villagers can have cakes and oils for their hair made from this new seed. This was a very good example of a strong female protagonist in a picture book. The story is well rounded and the illustrations, while simplistic in nature, are still interesting enough to the eye. I love discovering these old treasures that are for the most part lost/out of print for whatever reason. My rating - 4/5

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

A lovely little book, archived on OpenLibrary. Too bad it's not OwnVoices and is a bit dated in its perspective and details. However, given the state of children's lit about Native stories back then, it is respectful.

I love the art, which seems in homage to Evaline Ness. But again, it may be problematic according to some readers. I'm white, so I don't know for sure.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Alissa was very caught up by the snake scene. She kept talking about her sunflowers.

[Janet · Rating 1 out of 5]

Giving this title a one star rating until I do further research on this title. Have skimmed over the reviews here and yes. I do agree the illustrations are reminiscent of those of Eveline Ness.

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

Lovely tale of a young girl who grows sunflowers for the first time. The bright, simple illustrations are gentle with splashes of bright yellow under the text.

[Robert Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful story with splendid illustrations regarding a young Native American Indian girl who introduces sunflowers to her village and becomes a hero in the process. Wonderful!