Masato's Garden

by Jerry Ruff, Maya Onodera (Illustrator)

When Johnny shares his worries about his sick grandpa, his friend Masato invites him over to his house. There, Masato shows Johnny his extraordinary garden. It's filled with tiny pebbles, large rocks, small trees, and tall grass. Although Masato's garden is completely different from Johnny's grandpa's garden, the rocks and trees remind Johnny of him. Soon, he feels a little less worried.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2022

Reviews

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny shares his worries about his sick grandpa with his friend, Masato, and Masato takes Johnny to the rock garden in his backyard. As Masato explains the garden to Johnny, Johnny's worries ease a bit.

A little story about connections and the peacefulness that can come from visiting nature and sharing concerns with others.

[Kristine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took this one out of my public library. Really beautiful illustrations, and a quietly poignant story about worrying - especially about health and loved ones, and how worry filters down from parents to kids in different ways.

[Angela De Groot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Johnny is worried about his sick grandfather. When Johnny’s friend, Masato, invites him to play at his house, Johnny is surprised to find a garden very different to his own. “It’s not for playing,” explains Masato about the meditation garden. Masato shows Johnny how the garden and meditation help you not to worry as much. Together they imagine that the pebbles are the ocean, the boulders are islands, and after a while of quietly listening to the soothing sounds of water, Johnny begins to feel a little less worried about his sick grandfather.

[Karthika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book...very nice illustrations

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gelezen in het Nederlands maar 0 zin om het boek toe te voegen (al genoeg toegevoegd de afgelopen tijd). In dit mooie boek ontmoeten twee jongens elkaar in een speeltuin, een van de jongens heeft een zieke opa en voelt zich daar erg ongelukkig bij, maar zijn nieuwe vriendje heeft wel een idee. Hij heeft een hele mooie tuin, vol met rust en sereniteit. Plus, een luisterend oor. Ik vond het echt onwijs zoet van Masato, en ik was blij dat Johnny even tot rust kon komen en ook iemand had om mee te praten. Het einde maakte me blij en ook de illustraties vond ik erg leuk gedaan!

English review:

A gorgeous book about friendship, meditation, and family.


I saw this book in the library, in Dutch, and just had to read it. The blurb sounded so sweet! And I can tell you that I am very happy to have read the book!

In this book we meet two boys, Johnny and Masato. They are playing together in the playground when Johnny tells Masato about his sick grandpa who may or may not recover. He tells Masato about all the worries that he has. And I just loved how Masato had a wonderful plan. Because Masato has a very special garden. A garden unlike most of us have. Masato’s grandpa has made the garden full of meditation. There are tiny pebbles. Lots of grass. Cute trees. Sand in circles and forms around small island of rocks and grass. I wished that I could visit it for real, I mean, the illustrations help, but I would like to step inside the story. With how my mental health is (writing this in April, hoping that in June my mental health is better) now I could use a garden like this.

We see how Johnny and Masato discover the garden, talk about their grandfathers, and more. It was just so sweet and I loved how Masato listened and helped out his friend. It made me smile. Especially when things are working and Johnny is feeling better and better with each page.

I hope that Johnny’s grandpa got all better and that Masato and Johnny still have a wonderful friendship~

The illustrations by Maya Onodera were very well done, I just love the style.

All in all, a lovely book that I would recommend!

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/