The Rose in My Garden

by Arnold Lobel, Anita Lobel (Illustrator)

"In this fine book in which text and illustration build upon each other...cumulative verse unites with watercolor illustrations to convey the simple story of a garden's solitude being overturned by a fieldmouse, a cat, and a once-slumbering bee."--School Library Journal.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Poetry, Plants, Fiction, Gardening, Animals

39 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1984

About the author

Arnold Stark Lobel was a popular American author of children's books. Among his most popular books are those of the Frog and Toad series, and Mouse Soup, which won the Garden State Children's Book Award from the New Jersey Library Association.

Reviews

[Praj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I read
Grows like a seed,
Step by step it flows
Just as a seed grows,
Words dance to poetic tunes
Like flowers that slowly bloom,
Upon a rose in the garden
Sleeps a bee among the pollen,
Birds peck and butterflies flutter
Shelter the daisies, peonies in summer,
On a chase, a cat and a fieldmouse
Rattles the garden on shaky grounds,
With a single red rose it starts
Wisdom to the soul it imparts,
The beauty of a poem culminates
In miracles of nature it resonates.

[Linda Lipko]

What a feast for the eyes and balm for the soul. Starting with one lone flower, Lobel adds another, then another, and another to complete an incredible garden filled with zinnias, pansys, roses, marigolds and hollyhocks (to name a few).

Each rendition is incredibly beautiful with an ending of bee feasting on the nectar of a flower and a cat who cannot help but explore the bee, with the end result of a cat who is stung.

Such is nature in all the glory and splendor!

Highly recommended! Lobel is the award-winning author of the Frog and Toad Together children's series.

[Lingling · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved reading this beautiful poetry book to my daughter. It starts with a single rose 🌹 and then keeps adding new flowers on each page. It is stunning artwork. What a good way to learn about different flowers. The ending was unexpectedly funny and cute. We picked up this library bound edition for nothing and found out it was a $70 book! I can see why. Definitely a book you'd like to pass on to your children and grandchildren.

[Bethany Meadows]

A beautifully illustrated kids book.

[J · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a beautifully done book that follows along to the tune of "This Is the House That Jack Built" although focusing on the subject matter of an unknown gardener's flowers. As such the reader is taken on a journey where slowly the perceived garden is seen one added flower species at a time even as garden inhabitants like a caterpillar, snail, butterfly and so much more.

I love the rhyming pattern as it helps to engage the reader and for the very youngest it will help them to enjoy the book even if they may not be quite that interested in the actual story. Otherwise young beginning readers will find the book a bit longish but at the same time one that is easy to comprehend and read although some help may be needed with the names of the plants.

What makes this book so special is the beautiful illustrations of the flowers and the little creatures living in it. Each page the small creatures have moved or something else is introduced for the reader who is fine with just looking at the page or the colors along with the shapes of the flowers as they stand in contrast with each other while a black-and-white stamp box is found of the introduced flower on the facing page along with the words.

All in all this is a wonderful present for those who enjoy flowers, nature and/or gardens while they will enjoy the beautiful work of this particular garden and the ruckus that can be made in just one day by an uncaring soul.

[Delali · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is definitely a classic. I remember asking my mom to read this one over and over again to me. The repetitiveness is great for little ones, and it becomes sing-songy after a while. The pictures are gorgeous and I remember wanting to plant a garden just like it when I'd read it. I've held onto this book from my childhood and then rediscovered it last night reading it to my daughter. It was just as beautiful as I remembered it to be.

[Kelley Mitchell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A nice springtime chain tale a la "The House that Jack Built". I'm doing it with making paper flowers this year for my bulletin board, but it would match up with planting a flower garden, which I might consider for next spring. Flowerbeds that correspond to books (this story, Plant a Rainbow, Butterfly I'm sure there are others) would be an awesome activity.

[Lauren DeGraaf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Really loved the poem, it has excellent rhythm, and the illustrations but I have an issue with the formatting. The first third of the book looks very bare. I understand why it’s like that but it isn’t very pleasing to the eye. Loved the ending but the beginning is lacklustre to me.

[Catherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The patterned story will be appealing to some readers, not to others. It feels lengthy to me, but the illustrations are beautiful and I can see that many love this book. I picked it up because it was created by Arnold Lobel and Anita Lobel together.

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

In a poem about a garden, the repetitive verses are added to as a new plant is introduced. The illustrations are a delight and as the poem progresses new insects keep coming to the garden. Each page finds them in a new position so children can try to find them on each page.

[Min · Rating 5 out of 5]

A horticultural delight pattered like "The House That Jack Built". I would gift this to any garden lover. The floral illustrations are lush, and inviting; vibrant, and detailed. One could certainly learn a few flowers this way.

[Meredith · Rating 2 out of 5]

Using the same structure and rhythm as the nursery rhyme "The House that Jack Built," a rose is described in relation to other flowers and animals in a garden.

This is an example of a cumulative/chain tale that interlinks various objects rather than telling a narrative story.

[Allen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the way this story builds and all of the flowers.

[Kat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and I adore this type of rhythm that builds upon its self then rapidly disassembles.

[Caroline Herfindahl]

A fun cumulative tale that would be great for teaching kids the names of some typical garden flowers. It has a little bit of a surprise at the end (poor kitty...)

[Mary Catelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cumulative tale about a garden's flowers with a twist at the end.

[Anna · Rating 1 out of 5]

Too repetitive for my liking. It's easy to lose interest really fast and I can't see why a younger child would like reading about the same bee again and again.

[kristi · Rating 5 out of 5]

beautiful

[Kelly Chester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cute book pictures were vibrant

[John Redington · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful, colorful and fun. My daughters loved it. I must have read it a thousand times, we had it memorized.

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

It would be a three if the story wasn’t about flower placement. Not an interesting topic to me

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Obsessed with this book (positive connotation). I will* be checking out all the Lobel books I can from my library as soon as possible 💐

[Bustagroovy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lots of creepy crawlies!

[Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

"There's a flea on the wing on the fly on the frog on the bump on the log in the hole in the bottom of the sea."

[Patrycia Hayes · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Rose in My Garden by Arnold Lobel is an informative book that consists of a series of different roses and for each of the roses the author describes what the rose is and how it grows and functions. The illustrations of the roses used in this book are very vibrant and colorful. The language used in this book is slightly more advanced, possibly for 4th or 5th grade students, being that some of the names of the roses may be slightly more complex and difficult for beginning and moderate readers. This book would be most interesting to a student who has an interests and flowers and roses or a student who is fond of nature.
Teachers should know about this book because it is always good for a teacher to have books in his/her collection that pertain to a particular subject or theme which is in this case roses. This book would easily capture a student’s eye due to its beautiful illustrations and the presentation of the text.

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one rates a four star for the illustration concept which I think is very unique. On the left of the full page spread in the text one of the flowers or creatures is introduced on a yellow framed white (blank canvas) with a small pencil drawing of the flower/creature in the upper right hand corner. On the right hand side of the page spreads, the flower/creature is added to the canvas in color. I felt as if I were looking over Anita Lobel's shoulder as she painted the canvas. This is one of those titles that needs to be around so we picture book lovers can comprehend the actual making of a picture book. I loved it.

[Kellee Hao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade: 2nd

How often do you take a second look at flowers? How often do you take your time to think about the cycle of a flower, the reasons for the existence of a flower, or what it is used for? We often don't give flowers a second chance to express themselves, and we don't give ourselves the time to embrace its beauty. Take a look into this book, it'll show you the other side of what a flower and their neighbors can do for you. This book would be a great addition to the plant/flower book shelf for you library classroom.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

this is a good 'poem' type storybook. Also for an older child would be a good one to help them practice their reading skills. As each page has the previous line repeating itself. (almost in a 'round' type) but there are harder words that they would need help with. It starts with a bee on the rose in the garden then goes from one thing to another and then back to the bee in the garden. A cute story.

[Tymia · Rating 2 out of 5]

THIS BOOK IS VERY TEACHABLE FOR KIDS ITS NOT VERY FUN TO READ AND IT DOESN'T MAKE YOU THINK.

[Jen]

Cumulative poetry and illustrations show the garden growing as the poem continues. (Choice)