ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2010)

Aunt Mary tells her nephew to take care of a special rosebush, and "one day there will be a little bit of you inside of it. And a little bit of the rose inside of you." Douglas can only see a plain old bush until Aunt Mary tells the story of the rosebush from the time her father and grandfather planted it to when the war changed their lives. Details in the wonderfully realistic watercolors convey the 1950s time period, and sepia-tone illustrations of photos from a family album capture moments in a simpler time: hand milking and squirting some into the cats' mouths, churning butter, and sliding down the barn roof. Douglas is depicted throughout wearing suspender-topped bib overall shorts and cowboy boots idealized portrait of a bygone childhood that may affect adults more than young ones. Still, Wood's story proves that a rosebush can be more than just a rosebush; in this case, it's a living thing that creates a poignant bond between generations.

Kirkus Reviews

A nostalgic trip through one family's history centers around a hardy rose bush and Douglas, the little boy who is learning to care for it. Aunt Mary says the rose bush in her backyard has been in her family since before she was born. She cared for it just as her father asked her to, even uprooting and replanting it when the Depression forced them to move. Told through the sure, even voice of Aunt Mary, who raised her nephews Dick and Jim, Douglas's father ("That's what families do. They take care of each other"), Wood's tender memoir paints a picture of one family through the generations. Pham's sepia-toned colored watercolors, often painted to look like old-time photographs, extend the nostalgic feel and burst into full color when the story reaches Douglas's childhood in what appears to be the '50s. (Botanists will note that the shrub depicted is not the rugosa mentioned in the author's jacket bio but an actual rose, likely to be more universally recognized by children.) Children will enjoy asking their grandparents about their lives after reading about Douglas's extended family. A gentle slice of the past. (Picture book. 4-8)

School Library Journal (Thu Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2010)

K-Gr 3 Wood offers a slice of family history that exemplifies the intertwining of generations through tradition. On a visit to his great-aunt Mary's house, young Douglas is given the task of watering a large rosebush that was originally planted by his great-great grandfather and tended by four generations before him. Aunt Mary tells how her young nephewsDouglas's dad and unclecame to live on their grandparents' farm ("Something had happened, and they needed a place to livethat's what families do. They take care of each other. They love each other."). She recalls some of the boys' shenanigans, their enlistment in the service during World War II, his uncle's death in the war, and his parents' marriage. Pham's soft watercolor paintings feature sepia-toned "photos" of the family during the 1930s and '40s, and color paintings of young Douglas, Aunt Mary, and his parents circa the 1950s. Except for the rosebush, the story is somewhat similar to that of countless families of the pre-boomer generation, and it provides a brief introduction to rural farm life during that era. Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH