Maxine and the Greatest Garden Ever

by Ruth Spiro, Holly Hatam (Illustrations)

Best friends Maxine and Leo combine their maker and artistic skills to create (and save!) the ultimate garden in this empowering, STEM-focused picture book

After sketching and plotting and planting, Maxine and Leo know they've made The Greatest Garden Ever! But they're not the only ones who think so. Soon, all sorts of animals make their way in, munching on carrots and knocking over pots. When Leo and Maxine can't agree on a way to deter these unwelcome critters, it looks like there's more on the line than saving their garden--they just might need to save their friendship too.

Genres: Picture Books, Friendship, Childrens, Gardening, Stem, Science, Nature

40 pages, Hardcover

Published February 16, 2021

About the author

Ruth Spiro is the author of the Baby Loves Science series, published by Charlesbridge. These adorably illustrated board books contain expert-reviewed science, yet are simple enough for the very youngest readers. Another new picture book series, Made by Maxine, will be published by Dial in October, 2018.

Ruth is a frequent speaker at schools and conferences, and recent presentations include the Early Childhood STEM Conference at CalTech and the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books.

Reviews

[Jamie Bills · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maxine is an inventor with a goldfish as a best friend. She has the motto, "If I can dream it, I can build it!"

One day Maxine, Milton (the goldfish), and their friend, Leo, decide to create the “Greatest Garden Ever!” 🥕 🌸

I love this book! It is a great STEM book, but also includes themes such as compromise, perseverance, friendship, and creativity.

The illustrations are detailed with fun moments everywhere (love this kind of book for re-reading). My daughter and I love to use the images on the endpapers as a look-and-find, matching with the corresponding pictures throughout the book. (And, if you have read the first book in the series, MADE BY MAXINE, you will be able to spot Maxine’s “Fintastic” float.)

[Laura Perdew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spunky, creative Maxine and her friend Leo approach creative challenges just a bit differently. But they do succeed in making the greatest garden ever. But there’s a problem…the animals like it too. Can Maxine and Leo put their heads together and compromise to find a solution? Can they grow a garden and a friendship?

[Viviane Elbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun garden themed picture book featuring Maxine, who is a very creative engineering girl, and her friends Leo and Milton. They want to make the best garden ever, but soon find that their great garden is over-run by animals. Finding a solution to animal invaders takes some thought!

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maxine and Leo collaborate to build a garden. Their skillsets and styles are different, yet this book shows how they can mesh well, be responsive and positive towards feedback, adjust, and work together. I also liked that there weren’t gender stereotypes about who was good at what. It was refreshing to see Maxine work with code and Leo be successful with textile art. Also showcases how art and science/technology work together to address social issues like gardening and food sourcing! Art style is fun— feels like a collage.

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like how Maxine and Leo work together, she from the engineering side and he from the textile side, she from the practice side and he from the pretty side.

The goldfish is cute! (And the little brother is pretty funny, too.)

Do like they they decided that being friends was more important than their disagreement.

Think it shows that you can afford to waste the money and effort you put into the garden if you let the wildlife eat it, so I'm not thrilled with turning it into a wildlife cafe.

[Andrés · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun book that is, on the surface, about building a garden and building a friendship. It is also about the scientific method and teamwork. The pair never achieves their goal of keeping the nibbling animals out, but they learn a lot along the way and become friends. Plenty of details in the illustrations, sometimes with 2-4 sections per page. Grades 2 -5 would probably get the most out of this.

[Carol Farrington · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book subtly touches on so many great things which is why I rated it as 5 stars. Friendship when two people are very different , working out differences and working together and the scientific method of trying something and learning from it even when it doesn’t work all encapsulated in a wonderful story.

[Tania Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that encourages kids to be creative and persevere when something doesn't work the first time. Also shows cooperation and friendship skills. One of my favorite parts was the silly puns hidden in the background of many illustrations.

[Pinky · Rating 2 out of 5]

Maxine and Leo like inventing things. They make a garden together. The animals start eating all the veggies. Leo and Maxine design and create a new scarecrow. The scarecrow works too well and the two fight over what went wrong. They apologize to each other and open up the garden to the critters.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maxine and her friend Leo work together to build and grow a garden, but soon discover that different animals are eating their vegetables. Now Maxine and Leo must devise a plan to save their garden. It takes a lot of hard work, and almost puts their friendship in jeopardy.

[Villain E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is pretty good. Maxine and her friend Leo are inventors. They set out to make the greatest garden ever. And they succeed. But it keeps attracting wild animals. Can they invent something for that?

[Lupe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This STEM-based book relays the story of Maxine and her friends as they brainstorm and problem-solve in creating a garden. I like the fact that the kids have different personalities and talents. I plan to purchase this book for our Earth Day unit and I hope more books like this are published.

[Jacqui · Rating 3 out of 5]

STEM

[Ron Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like how it works on a number of levels, encouraging gardening, problem-solving and STEM skills.

[Aarvik · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay read!