Rosario's Fig Tree

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.