Grandmother Thorn

by Katey Howes, Rebecca Hahn (Illustrator)

Overview

Nominee:
2017 Cybils Award, Best Fiction Picture Book, Children's and Young Adult

Grandmother Thorn treasures her garden, where not a leaf, twig or pebble is allowed out of place. But when a persistent plant sprouts without her permission, Grandmother begins to unravel. “Her hair became as tangled as the vines on her fence. Her garden fell into disrepair. One morning, she did not rake the path.” A dear friend, the passage of seasons, and a gift only nature can offer help Grandmother Thorn discover that some things are beyond our control, and that sweetness can blossom in unexpected places.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780991386697
Publisher:	Chicago Review Press, Incorporated
Publication date:	08/29/2017
Pages:	44
Product dimensions:	9.90(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	5 - 7 Years

About the Author

Katey Howes is a former physical therapist who now writes full time from her home office. She loves connecting kids with the natural world through exploration, art, and science. She lives in Chesterfield, New Jersey. Rebecca Hahn is an artist who enjoys working with a diverse range of media including animation. She previously worked for the Walt Disney Company where she drew the Winnie the Pooh characters for the Consumer Products Division. She has since left the corporate world to work from her studio where she continues to create for business and pleasure, tending to her long time loves of story, concept, and craft. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

"Verdict: This well-crafted take offers a gentle lesson of stewardship and living in peace with nature. Teachers and parents will appreciate its story, and readers of all ages will delight in its appealing design." —Marilyn Taniguchi, School Library Journal


"What a gem this book is. Grandmother Thorn powerfully conveys the message that beauty can be found where we least expect it— or want it— when we learn to let go of our stubborn ways." —happilyeverelephants.com


"Portland artist Rebecca Hahn painted, sewed and crafted the intricate and lovely artwork for this picture book from a Portland publisher. Katey Howes wrote the story of friendship and acceptance set in a rural Japanese village where the title character prides herself on orderliness and keeping the upper hand." —Amy Wang, Oregonian

From the Publisher

2017-05-24
Grandmother Thorn has spent years perfecting her beloved garden, but a new plant, a gift from a friend, threatens its harmony. Grandmother Thorn lives alone in Shizuka Village, apparently in Japan. Every day she meticulously cares for her garden and its pebbled paths, shunning visitors and shooing birds away from her trees. Neighbors fear her, but she always shows kindness to her old friend, Ojiisan, despite the fact that his crooked foot disrupts her precious paths. When a merchant brings an unusual type of berry to market, Ojiisan pays the merchant to take some to Grandmother Thorn. The merchant unwisely picks one perfect flower. Enraged, Grandmother Thorn chases him away and he drops the berries—one of which soon sprouts into a renegade plant. Her intense anger at this makes her so sick she must stay at the home of her niece until the following spring. When Ojiisan goes to walk her home, he gives her a box of berries. They are delicious—the fruit of the persistent weed. Grandmother Thorn understands that she has finally found something as stubborn as herself. Although Howes' protagonist learns a good lesson, she is not particularly likable to that point, and the stern faces of Hahn's characters could be disconcerting to the book's young audience. Her pattern-filled, hand-collage illustrations incorporate fabric, wood, and paint, their thick outlines and stable compositions imparting a sense of peace to Grandmother Thorn's garden. Lovely—but it requires patience, just like its protagonist. (Picture book. 5-8)

Kirkus Reviews