Celia Planted a Garden: The Story of Celia Thaxter and Her Island Garden, written by Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt. Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Candlewick Press, Penguin Random House. 2022. $24.99 ages 8 and up

 

"In the springtime, after long winters, Celia sailed 
back to Appledore, carrying the seedlings to plant 
her garden. Year after year, she planted. She planted
pansies, sweet peas and hollyhocks, dark larkspurs 
and foxgloves, and tall sunflowers and red dahlias
and nasturtiums and golden California poppies - 
and yellow marigolds. All summer long the flowers
blossomed and brightened the island ... "

Once again, in the pages of a well-written and beautifully illustrated picture book biography, I have learned about an amazing woman I knew not at all. Celia Laighton was born in 1835 and spent her childhood living on two islands - White Island and Appledore Island - near Maine and New Hampshire. 
White Island, the waves, and the seagulls that surrounded her lacked color. Every spring, Celia planted a garden to bring color to a drab island life. While their father tended the lighthouse, Celia and her brothers enjoyed their lives there. 

Changing seasons saw her waving farewell to the birds she so loved; winter brought frost, snow and almost unbearable cold. Spring always returned with the promise of birds and Celia's next garden. At 12, the family moved to Appledore Island where Celia planted another admirable garden. When she met and married Levi Thaxter, they moved to the mainland. She missed the sea, and dreamed of her childhood gardens, while also writing poems about island life. 

She wrote, filled her house with colorful plants of all kinds, and painted from her memories of summers on the islands. She returned to Appledore to plant her garden year after year. Only after the birds had flown south and her garden had succumbed to the cold did she return once more to the mainland. 

Affection for this remarkable woman shines through on every page, in the carefully chosen words of Phyllis Root and Gary D. Schmidt. Melissa Sweet provides a perfect artistic complement in her watercolor, gouache and mixed-media artwork. Numerous quotes from Ms. Thaxter are placed alongside, allowing readers to see and understand her love for the floral displays, the birds, and the lure of the sea. An author's note, a comprehensive timeline, and a lengthy bibliography make up back matter.   

"The very act of planting a seed in the earth has in it to me something beautiful."