Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews (Wed Sep 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

The art of kids being kids comes alive.Amanda and her mother, who both present Black, are carrying a large cardboard box they're taking down from the 15th floor. A plethora of diverse kids spill out of a packed elevator in a massive apartment complex into the early spring, "like candies from a box," to a concrete courtyard. Reaching into the box, Amanda pulls out a rainbow's worth of chalk and draws what appears to be the Covid-19 virus. Another kid, Jackson, adds a stem to Amanda's drawing and turns it into a dandelion. Other children join in and create flowers, a snail, a palm tree, and balloons, every new addition filling the space. Above, Nasrin, wearing a hijab, "lonely for her mom in faraway Isfahan," sends her a photo of the concrete garden, and it quickly goes viral. And when the rain washes away the kids' work days later, they just rip up Amanda's now-empty box and race the cardboard pieces in the water. There are scuffles among siblings in this story, but all told, no child ever chides another for adding to their art or putting something like an alien spaceship into the mix. Graham's signature watercolor-and-ink illustrations bring it all to life beautifully. The subtlety of the storytelling makes a statement about art in a time of disease better than words ever could. (This book was reviewed digitally.)Deft, understated loveliness. (Picture book. 4-7)

ALA Booklist (Wed Dec 06 00:00:00 CST 2023)

After a hard winter, the children living in a cold, gray apartment building are ready for fun. They gather on the concrete outside and share a giant box of colored chalk. Amanda draws a large, circular design, and Jackson adds a stem, turning it into a gigantic dandelion. Janet draws a mushroom, and Lovejoy puts an enormous snail on top. The Bradley twins create flowers, while other kids add trees, bumblebees, and a butterfly, transforming the dull concrete into a lush chalk garden, to the delight of the adults looking down from their balconies. Days later, rain washes the art away, but the children turn the bedraggled chalk box into little boats and then race them in the gutter to amuse themselves. The story is simply told, but Graham's sensitive ink drawings with watercolor washes give each scene a playful, endearing look. In the context of the post-pandemic period, it seems natural that the children at ground level and the adults watching from above are equally riveted by the kids' activities and creativity in this beguiling picture book.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

The art of kids being kids comes alive.Amanda and her mother, who both present Black, are carrying a large cardboard box they're taking down from the 15th floor. A plethora of diverse kids spill out of a packed elevator in a massive apartment complex into the early spring, "like candies from a box," to a concrete courtyard. Reaching into the box, Amanda pulls out a rainbow's worth of chalk and draws what appears to be the Covid-19 virus. Another kid, Jackson, adds a stem to Amanda's drawing and turns it into a dandelion. Other children join in and create flowers, a snail, a palm tree, and balloons, every new addition filling the space. Above, Nasrin, wearing a hijab, "lonely for her mom in faraway Isfahan," sends her a photo of the concrete garden, and it quickly goes viral. And when the rain washes away the kids' work days later, they just rip up Amanda's now-empty box and race the cardboard pieces in the water. There are scuffles among siblings in this story, but all told, no child ever chides another for adding to their art or putting something like an alien spaceship into the mix. Graham's signature watercolor-and-ink illustrations bring it all to life beautifully. The subtlety of the storytelling makes a statement about art in a time of disease better than words ever could. (This book was reviewed digitally.)Deft, understated loveliness. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly

After a “cold, hard winter” in a building whose watercolor-and-ink facade nearly fills the page, a few adults wearing surgical face masks and a group of maskless children “spilled out like candies from a box” onto a concrete plaza. The last of the children, Amanda, carries a large box of chalk. She draws a circle with appendages that resembles a coronavirus virion, and another child quickly turns the shape into a dandelion, setting off a cascade of creativity among the kids, portrayed with various skin tones. Each one adds an interpretation of much-missed nature, and the image of a visiting alien spaceship appears for good measure. When Rosie draws a “Queen of Swirls,” the collaboration coalesces into a true Gesamtkunstwerk: “A beautiful and exotic garden spread across the concrete. And the Queen of Swirls ruled.” Peering from above, another figure, Nasrin, snaps a photo for her mother in Iran (“A concrete garden—isn’t it something?”), and it travels around the world, offering cheer and hope to many. Alternating wide shots of the decorated plaza with tighter vignettes of the artists thoughtfully evaluating their canvas, executing their ideas, and reflecting on the results, Graham (Jigsaw) celebrates the book’s young cast as serious creators joined in sharing art’s healing power. Ages 3–7. (Nov.)

School Library Journal (Fri Dec 01 00:00:00 CST 2023)

PreS-Gr 2— The joy of children working together in creative pursuit is beautifully captured in Graham's subtle lyricism and delicate illustrations. When a diverse collective of neighborhood children spill like "candies from a box," onto their apartment building's courtyard with a winter's worth of pent-up energy, magic is sure to happen. The drab gray of the pavement provides a spacious canvas for the colorful chalk creation young Amanda has in mind. Her abstract circles are taken up as the petals of a dandelion by Jackson, and accented by another child's mushrooms, and so the concrete garden is sown. Of course, the cheeky neighborhood dog contributes in his own way, to the chagrin of the Bradley twins. The colorful cheer of the "beautiful and exotic" garden—although temporary—spreads well beyond the confines of the apartment courtyard. Graham carefully arranges vignettes on a white backdrop to bring the chalk garden to the fore, and his similes add unexpected depth to the straightforward narrative. VERDICT This read-aloud will inspire many rich conversations about community, emotions, and kindness with preschool and early—school age children. Recommended purchase.— Sarah Simpson