The Curious Garden is s magical story about a boy’s dream and how the efforts of one small person can help change the world. This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.

One day, a curious boy named Liam is out exploring his drab, gray city when he comes across a struggling garden. He decides to help the plants grow, never imagining what he is starting. As time passes, the garden takes on a life of its own and spreads across the city, changing everything in its path. Bib by bit, the city is transformed, becoming a lush green world.

Brown’s (Chowder) latest is a quiet but stirring fable of urban renewal, sure to capture imaginations. In exploring his bleak city neighborhood, thoughtful Liam — in Brown’s warm, almost fuzzy acrylic spreads, he looks a little like a friendly, redheaded wooden puppet — notices that some flowering plants have appeared on an old elevated railway track. He teaches himself to care for them (‘The flowers nearly drowned and he had a few pruning problems, but the plants patiently waited while Liam found better ways of gardening’), and the garden responds by ‘growing restless. It wanted to explore.’ In one of several wordless spreads, Liam stands against a bright blue sky, surrounded by a thick patch of daisies. Spring brings a burst of new energy: ‘the tough little weeds and mosses set out first. They popped up farther and farther from the railway…. but the most surprising things that popped up were the new gardeners.’ In Brown’s utopian vision, the urban and the pastoral mingle to joyfully harmonious effect — especially on the final pages, which show a city filled with rooftop gardens, fantastic topiaries, windmills and sparkling ponds.

About Author:
Peter Brown is a graduate of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and now lives in Brooklyn, NY.