My Baba’s Garden

My Baba’s Garden

Named a Best Book of 2023 by New York Public Library, Kirkus Reviews, and School Library Journal
Winner of the Chen Bochui Best Picture Book Award

The bond between a child and his grandmother grows as they tend her garden together.

A young boy spends his mornings with his beloved Baba, his grandmother. She doesn't speak much English, but they connect through gestures, gardening, eating, and walking to school together. Marked by memories of wartime scarcity, Baba cherishes food, and the boy learns to do the same. Eventually, Baba needs to move in with the boy and his parents, and he has the chance to care for her as she’s always cared for him. 

Inspired by memories from poet Jordan Scott’s childhood, with beautiful, dreamlike illustrations by award-winning illustrator Sydney Smith, My Baba’s Garden is a deeply personal story that evokes universal emotions. Like Scott and Smith’s previous collaboration I Talk Like a River, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award, My Baba’s Garden lends wistful appreciation to cherished time with family.

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Praise for My Baba’s Garden

"Beautifully illustrated. . . . Told in spare poetic language, the pictures play a major role. Smith’s watercolor and gouache paintings exquisitely capture the light in Baba’s kitchen, and cars’ headlights in the rain. . . . By the time we’ve finished [this] book, one boy’s Baba is our Baba. . . ."
—The New York Times

"[A] tender story. . . . Smith’s observational prowess is a perfect match for this story of quiet, contemplative moments of profound meaning, his nuanced and expressive watercolors capturing years of struggle and sorrow on Baba’s face—but also the abundant love she feels for her grandson. . .”
—The Horn Book, Starred Review

"Together, Scott and Smith create a portrait of a love which needs few words."
—Publisher’s Weekly, Starred Review

"A beautiful tale of family and the love shared between a child and grandparent. . . . ­Gorgeous illustrations brim with emotional use of dappled light and color. . . . This is outstanding storytelling in a marvelous picture book that deserves a place in all collections. . . . This intergenerational story will provide young people with an opportunity to share those special bonds they have with an older person and hopefully encourage them to reflect on the simple acts that connect one generation to the next."
—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"Share this heartfelt testament to family widely."
—The Bookist, Starred Review

"Heart-tugging. . . . Smith is an illustrator well suited to capturing a nonverbal bond. As in I Talk Like a River, his dense watercolor and gouache art has a shimmery, textured richness. . . . My Baba's Garden hints at themes like immigration, poverty, loss and the end of life, but the narrative works beautifully at its most basic level: it's a love letter from a grandchild to a grandparent."
—Shelf Awareness