Official URL: tatepublishing.com
List Price: $9.99
Rating:

Keepers of the Garden, by Deborah Race Hall, is a very sweet story about a little fruit tree that is worn out and barely hanging on. It is overshadowed by the larger trees in the thicket around it and it doesn’t get any sun. The sad little tree barely grows any fruit and it looks pretty hopeless. Then, the Master Gardener (obviously meant to represent God) sends his specially trained workers to care for the tree. They remove the thick overgrowth, break up the soil around the tree and give it water and a good pruning. At the end, after much loving care from the workers, the tree grows strong and healthy, bearing much fruit.

LESSON

Keepers of the Garden is a children’s book, teaching little ones about “God’s love for everyone and His acceptance of mankind”. It is meant to show how God sends those who believe in Him and serve Him to minister to the broken and wounded. There are scriptures in the back of the book that the story is based upon. While this book may be enjoyable for children and parents of all religions, its main audience is those of the Christian faith.

REVIEW

This book has beautiful illustrations on shiny and colorful pages and a nice, rhyming story that is easy on the ears. I don’t feel that it is as engaging as it could be for the younger crowd but an older child could easily get the gist of the story. The story could definitely be used as a tool to start a conversation between parents and children about how God cares for us and how we should care for others and show His love.

NITPICKS

There is a typo in the book and one on the back cover. This is a pet peeve of mine as I feel a published work of literacy should be carefully proofread and edited, especially one meant for children who may be learning to read and spell. The line in the story that contains the error says “The keepers of the garden tolled night and day.” This obviously should be “toiled”. On the back cover, it says that parents, too will “find themselves apart of Keepers of the Garden”. Didn’t they mean “a part”? Again, I’m aware that this is a nitpick but can’t we count on a professional, published author to spell and use grammar correctly? I should hope so.

BOTTOM LINE

Overall, Keepers of the Garden is a sweet little story that will help you teach your children about the love of God and the responsibility of those who serve Him to love the brokenhearted and depressed in the world. It is nicely illustrated and thoughtfully written, but not the best that it could be.