The Fan Brothers make their picture-book debut with a whimsical story bursting with hope and innovation.
Everything about Grimloch Lane is unspectacular. Among its uncreative residents is a young boy named William, who one day discovers that a tree outside the orphanage where he lives has been magnificently altered into an owl. William and his neighbors are delighted with the daily additions of marvelous topiaries that grace the once-lackluster street. While the neighborhood celebrates the most outstanding piece—a dragon—William spies the Night Gardener and follows him into Grimloch Park, where the two work side-by-side through the night, shaping the park’s many trees. What follows is a marvelously inspiring transformation, especially in the life of one young lad.
Terry and Eric Fan have produced an exceptional story of awakening, set during the late 19th to early 20th centuries. Readers will discover a truly magical world in these eye-catching scenes rendered in graphite, pen, ink and watercolor. Intricately designed, vintage-style spreads incorporate light and well-balanced text, and the slow transition from drab scenes to ones replete with brilliant hues breathes life into the story of an orphan boy and his serendipitous encounter with the Night Gardener.
An inimitable work, The Night Gardener has the potential to become an award-winning book and an all-time classic.
