Grown with Love
By (Author) Valeria Wicker
Illustrated by Valeria Wicker
Simon & Schuster
Margaret K McElderry Books
12th February 2025
United States
Children
Fiction
Childrens / Teenage general interest: Plants and trees
Childrens / Teenage fiction: Friendship stories
Childrens / Teenage personal and social topics: Emotions, moods, feelings and be
Childrens / Teenage personal and social topics: Friends and friendships
Hardback
40
Width 254mm, Height 254mm, Spine 13mm
497g
A boy with the greenest of thumbs works to unlock the mystery behind his elderly neighbors inability to keep a plant alive and to find her the perfect botanical companion in this sweet picture book for fans of The Night Gardener and When Grandma Gives You a Lemon Tree.
Oliver is a proud plant-grafter and scientist who uses his verdant know-how to help his community by pairing all his neighbors with the most useful plant. He grows the Climatis Enduris for Mr. Finch to keep him dry, the Housum Immaculatis to help Mrs. Kulp stay on top of her chores, and the Shrub Architectis for Ms. Lloyd to keep her dog fenced in.
But Olivers trickiest customer is Mrs. Kroftombottom, who cannot keep a plant alive no matter how hard she tries. Oliver makes it his mission to grow some greenery that she can maintain, using the scientific method to determine whats gone wrong in her garden. Can he unlock the secret ingredient that will allow her plantsand Mrs. Kroftombottom herselfto flourish
Valeria Wicker is the author-illustrator ofThe Ugly Doodles,Grown with Love, andThe Knight Snacker, as well as the illustrator for the graphic novelThe Runaways Diarywritten by James Patterson. She was born and raised in Italy and graduated with a degree in fashion design from IPS Virginia Woolf, an Italian art institute. She immigrated to the United States when she was twenty years old. When shes not illustrating, she spends time gardening, woodcarving, making pottery, restoring old furniture, and spending time on her latest personal project: turning her backyard woods into a fairy-filled woodland forest.