The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown promotes the environment, patience and a sense of community. The book is inspired by New York City’s High Line, and illustrates how one person can make a difference to the environment.
Liam loves to be outside, but he lives in a city “without gardens or trees or greenery of any kind.” His curiosity leads him to explore a derelict elevated railway track he has often wondered about. He discovers some dying flowers and decides to care for them. He has a few problems, but soon learns what the plants need to thrive.
His dedication and perseverance pays off when the flowers grow and spread over the train tracks. A snowy winter gives Liam the opportunity to learn more about gardening. In the spring he put this new knowledge into practice and colour soon spread throughout the city. Soon nature covers the entire city and its residents come out of the home to garden, socialise and enjoy their surroundings.
Book Themes
Environmentalism, making a difference, perseverance and hard work
Key Vocabulary
Curious, drowned, ordinary, restless, delicate, interrupted, preparing, toll, gardener wandering, dreary, prune, drizzly, stairwell, stumble
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Illustrator: Peter Brown
Publisher: Little Brown Book Group (2009)
ISBN: 9780316015479
Take a look inside
Peter Brown Official Website
Related Posts
Book Resources
I have created a bundle of literacy graphic organizers for The Curious Garden. You can find them at my Teachers Pay Teachers store. Click on the image to go directly to the pack.
- Learning to Give: Earth Keepers
- Learning to Give: Phil’s Garden of Good
- Little, Brown: The Curious Garden Educator Guide
- NSW Government: SPaRK – The Curious Garden
Read-Aloud Questions
Read aloud sessions are a wonderful way for children to understand the connection between written text and spoken language. You can model reading habits and strategies, reading fluency, tone and eye contact. You can also introduce different genres, authors and illustrators.
- Why do you think the book is called The Curious Garden?
- Why does the city look so dreary?
- Would you like to live in this city? Why/Why not?
- Why did Liam explore the old railway track?
- Why do you think Liam didn’t give up?
- What caused the garden to spread throughout the city?
- Compare the first spread of the city with the last. Describe how the city transformed.
- How would you describe Liam?
- How do the people of the city change throughout the story? How do you know?
- How does Liam show perseverance?
- How do the illustrations change through the story?
You can find a set of discussion cards in The Curious Garden Literacy Pack. Here are three separate packs of resources for the Curious Garden.
Book Trailers & Videos
Books by Peter Brown
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