Grown with Love

A boy with the greenest of thumbs works to unlock the mystery behind his elderly neighbor’s 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 Oliver’s 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 what’s gone wrong in her garden. Can he unlock the secret ingredient that will allow her plants—and Mrs. Kroftombottom herself—to flourish?

Valeria Wicker is the author-illustrator of The Ugly Doodles, Grown with Love, and The Knight Snacker, as well as the illustrator for the graphic novel The Runaway’s Diary written 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 she’s 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.