Lucy's Secret

Description

32 pages
Contains Illustrations
$16.95
ISBN 0-88899-566-0
DDC jC813'.54

Publisher

Year

2004

Contributor

Reviewed by Britta Santowski

Britta Santowski is a freelance writer in Victoria.

Review

This lovely picture book depicts the relationship between gardens and
the creation of life as discovered by the child Lucy and guided by the
aptly named adult, Anna Zinnia. The story begins with the simple and
inviting sentence, “The door is open.” The corresponding image shows
a gate cracked open. Turn the page and encounter Anna’s engaging and
welcoming smile peeking out from an abundance of flowers. Then, just as
the garden does, the images and words of the story proliferate. Anna
introduces her passion for gardening to Lucy by sharing the secrets of
creation with the girl. Although it is the seed that ultimately bears
the flower, Anna shows by example that it is passion and patience that
beget the final reward. The secret lies in the waiting, Anna explains.
Together, they plant some seeds. As the days pass, the two explore the
garden by reading the plants, swimming in the pond, swinging and
dancing, and waiting.

Then, just as Lucy can wait no more, the flowers have grown. Which
presents the one problem I had with this book. Lucy’s impatience comes
from seeing no change at all, and then suddenly she sees a full
flower-bearing plant. As both child and adult, I’ve been interested in
growing plants from seeds, and the most exciting part of this process is
watching that first new-green stalk push its way out of the seed and
break the ground. That phase is completely passed over in the narration
of the story, although it is pictorially represented on one page.

Having said that, Lucy’s Secret beautifully shares an adult’s
infectious passion for nature with a curious child. The book is
illustrated with delightful full-page watercolour garden images. Along
with a cornucopia of brightly coloured flowers and green plant life, the
paintings include an abundance of beasts (house cats) and bugs
(bumblebees, butterflies, ladybugs, flies, caterpillars, and
dragonflies) scattered throughout the pages. Recommended.

Citation

Levert, Mireille., “Lucy's Secret,” Canadian Book Review Annual Online, accessed February 5, 2025, https://cbra.library.utoronto.ca/items/show/20819.