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Stepanka Sekaninova used to work as a TV reporter and in the production of children's programs. Now she is a writer and an editor-in-chief, living in the Czech Republic. Linh Dao spent much of her life in Hanoi, Vietnam, where she was born, before moving to the Czech Republic. She studied illustration in Brno and animation in Zln, where her graduation film earned several international awards. In 2016, she won a prize in the Young Creative category at the ADC Creative Awards. After a stint in corporate life, she returned to freelancing as an illustrator and animator. She lives in Brno, where she survives mainly on potato chips and green tea.
LEARNING ABOUT THE GARDEN WITH SLEEPING BEAUTY is an intriguing combination of fairy tale and nonfiction facts about gardens. On the pages a reader would normally flip through, there is the story of Sleeping Beauty who loves her gardens and all the things that grow within it. When you fold open each page, there are facts and information about elements of gardens, such as plants that have thorns, vegetables, ornamental flowers, and herbs. All of it is illustrated with a gentle and imaginative style that speaks to the topic. What I loved: It was really fun how the fairy tale was interwoven with the nonfiction parts of the book. After reading each part of Sleeping Beauty and her gardens, the reader can take a deeper dive into the plants that grow in them. I appreciated all the facts along with the illustrations and use of background color that make this fun to explore. For children who live around gardens in their yards and around town, they will enjoy learning more about the different kinds of plants. The book also gives some context around key words, such as what makes a herb different from a spice. This could definitely spark an interest in learning more about gardens and plants - as well as starting your own. Final verdict: An intriguing book to learn about gardens, LEARNING ABOUT THE GARDEN WITH SLEEPING BEAUTY is a delightful combination of fairy tale and facts. This is a great pick for elementary school aged children who enjoy the story of Sleeping Beauty and learning more about the world around them. YA Books Central While this book was beautifully illustrated, and the approach is interesting and unique the writing became too compex at times. I enjoyed weaving gardening in with a fairytale, and I would like to see the other books in this series. That being said, the depth in which the explanation for plants and gardening went was too expansive for juvenile nonfiction. If it is meant for older juveniles, it would be a good start to learning about gardening. The patrons at my library that tend toward fairy tales are generally younger, not that illustrated fairy tales can't appeal to older ages, but the approach seemed to switch between two ages of reading levels Jordan Gray, Librarian
