Rosario's Fig Tree

January 19, 2015
What happens when a living fruit tree is buried in the ground? That’s what the narrator of this story wonders when her neighbor, an elderly gentleman named Rosario, digs a long trench for his beloved fig tree. All summer she’s watched Rosario tend his vegetable garden and harvest figs: “Rosario gave the figs to all his friends. I’m his friend, too.” As winter approaches, Rosario lays the tree down and covers it with dirt. There’s a surprise in store the following summer, though, as Rosario demonstrates that plants can survive what looks like death. Wahl’s low-key story focuses on a man whose skills impress his observant neighbor as an instance of magic in the real world: “He knows the perfect day to put in every plant and seed. It never snows or gets too cold after that.” Melanson (Martin on the Moon) draws the characters as thin, drawn-out figures with huge, expressive eyes, placing them against inviting garden backgrounds. It’s a useful addition to the library of urban gardening stories, one that pays homage to the kind of real-world knowledge that can’t be learned from books. Ages 4–7.

January 15, 2015
Old Rosario is a magician, though not the kind that pulls rabbits out of hats.The unnamed little girl who lives next door to Rosario thinks he is a magician because he grows everything. She helps him dig the soil and lay the seeds for many vegetables, some of which she does not even recognize. But one spring he takes a pot out that has a tree in it. They live in a place that is too cold for figs, but this is a fig tree, and Rosario loves it. And it does grow figs, which are "kind of squishy, but they are as sweet as peaches." In late fall, Rosario does a strange thing-he buries the fig tree! The girl wonders if it is dead, but Rosario is not sad: He is a magician with growing things. An unusual but still-used method for overwintering a fig tree is described (children of Italian or Latino ancestry might be more familiar with their grandparents' practice of wrapping the entire tree in cloth), and the joy of growing things is well-delineated. The digitally produced images are bright with summer colors, and the figures have elongated bodies and funny ovoid heads with vivid expressions. A child's wonder at the care it takes to make things grow and the joys of fresh figs make an engaging story. (Picture book. 4-8)

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March 1, 2015

K-Gr 2-"Garden magician" Rosario has a friend and helper next door who devotedly follows his miraculous effect on things that grow. His garden is full of vegetables-radicchio, potatoes, radishes, tomatoes, peppers, beans, zucchini, cucumbers, and eggplants. Each day, the girl next door marvels at his knowledge: "He knows the perfect day to put in every plant and seed. It never snows or gets too cold after that." The elderly gardener's addition of a fig tree entrances the child as it provides friends and neighbors with sweet fruit all summer, but she is mystified and deeply concerned when the tree receives a "burial" and then disappears, covered in snow through the winter. As the cycle turns and the warmth brings back Rosario's helpful friends, their sage counsel, a resurgence of green everywhere, and a tiny new leaf on the fig tree, this first-person narrative emphasizes the bond between generations, the value of learning, and the passing on of knowledge. "No magic...You just learn, and then you know." Illustrations include full-page digital paint images and smaller, more focused and telescoped views of the narrator, Rosario, and his garden within a palette of warm gold, greens and brown. Exaggerated heads on slender frames, the faces in profile and large, expressive eyes convey a host of emotions and the warmth between a young girl and her dear friend. VERDICT Perfect to introduce the wonder of growing things, this title is a recommended general purchase.-Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

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