Julianna Swaney

A young family learns to grow a garden, describing how they prepared the soil, watered their plants, dealt with the animals who invaded their garden, and how all their hard work finally paid off as they harvested vegetables and flowers.

This inspiring picture book celebrates the friendship between a young girl and an elderly woman as they plant seeds in a community garden alongside friends and neighbors, waiting for the seeds to flower. By mid-summer, the friends welcome a rainbow of color in the garden and picnics in the sun. At harvest, the young girl's elderly friend is bed-ridden, but jubilant as they share baskets with red tomatoes and snap peas amid the sweet smell of lavender....

"A behind-the-scenes peek at all the hard work, creativity, and excitement that leads up to the opening night performance of American Ballet Theatre's The Nutcracker"--