Chicago Botanic Garden

Education — Lenhardt Library

Current Books & Book Reviews

PHOTO: bookcover

Deborah Lee Rose.
The Twelve Days of Springtime: A School Counting Book.
New York: Abrams, 2009.
decorated boards, 32 pp., ISBN 978–0–81098–330–4, $15.95.

Brightly illustrated by Carey Armstrong-Ellis, this book for young readers depicts the activities of young children being taught how to garden by a harried, yet erstwhile teacher. Using the metaphor of the traditional “twelve days of Christmas” as a theme, the author provides a simple text based on springtime activities in the outdoors and in a classroom setting over a twelve-day period. Each illustration is fun-filled with frolicking children, animals, and insects, offering plenty of opportunities for counting.

— Marilyn K. Alaimo, garden writer and volunteer, Chicago Botanic Garden.