Review by Sharon Brunner
Diana Magnuson’s Garden Sleeping, Garden Growing: In and Around All Year Long celebrates gardens and the joys they bring to people who nurture them in their growth throughout the year. The main characters were Aunt Noriko and her niece Dehlia. The location of the story was the Upper Peninsula of Michigan (U.P.). In the artist’s reflection she stated the U.P. was the window into the magic of changing seasons. The U.P. distinctly represented all four seasons. Magnuson mentioned she taught at Northern Michigan University in Marquette, Michigan which is a city in the U.P. so she has been a resident of Marquette. Magnuson depicted in her book the magic of the four seasons, wildlife, family traditions and gardening with an educational twist to enhance the readers’ knowledge.
Some of the main themes were woodland animals and birds along with the four seasons and what they have to offer. Almost every page consisted of woodland animals and/or birds on it. Magnuson demonstrated her phenomenal artistic ability in her book. Her pictures of woodland animals in the main character’s yard were enchanting and definitely a depiction of life in the U.P. I see wildlife in my yard all the time. I live in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan, a city in the U.P. For September she mentioned flocks of geese, raccoon, chipmunk, squirrel and birds. And she mentioned other animals and birds throughout her book. I especially like the harvest celebration for the month of November in which she referred to Native Americans and how they gardened and hunted in the region. She explained in detail the crops the indigenous raised, things they gathered, animals they hunted, and the maple syrup they prepared.
This book was related to my life in so many ways. I have lived in the U.P. all my life. I plant a garden annually and plan my seeds before planting season. This year my garden produced a lot of green beans, beets, carrots, squash, and peas. I thoroughly enjoy seeing things sprout from the ground and was sad when I had to recently pull my bean plants and start saying goodbye to my garden for the year. I still have some beets to pick and three squash continue to grow in my garden. I also have a love of animals and bring carrots to the back of my yard during the summer and fall months to feed the deer. I thoroughly enjoyed reading about the science facts, folklore and wisdom shared for each month and like the idea promoted in book of life-long learning. And Like Magnuson, I taught at a U.P. college, Bay Mills Community College. I am exploring my drawing and painting ability and applaud Magnuson’s ability.
When reading this book I was reminded of the book Seasons of the Sacred Earth: Following the Old Ways on an Enchanting Homestead. This was a story about a journey through a mystical year where gardens grow by true nurturance and magic, children explore forests, and the light of fire flies lead to mystery, a simply enchanting book like Magnuson’s. A movie that came to mind was “The Secret Garden” which was a magical tale of endearing friendship and healing. It was an animated Dr. Suess musical in which the Lorax explored environmental themes associated with forests and their inhabitants. Magnuson explained in her book woodland creatures such as red foxes, coyotes, porcupines, badgers, and barred owls. Many of her illustrations featured animals that roamed the forests.
I recommend Diana Magnuson’s Garden Sleeping, Garden Growing: In and Around All Year Longfor its candid depictions of the seasons, because of its illustrations, for its information about science facts, folklore and hands on wisdom and for its colorful poetry that described each month of the year. For example, January included a narration provided by the garden as it rests under winter’s heavy blanket of snow. The illustrations throughout the book were enchanting and portrayed a lot of wildlife. Each month was described in the book and for example August’s narrative portrayed the ripe fruits and vegetables to be picked. The science facts were interesting. She explained wildlife such as the black bear which happen to be prevalent in the U.P. Magnuson’s book is the perfect book for people who are curious about the U.P. and its various seasons, gardening and the natural world.
