Mrs. Spitzer's Garden: [Gift Edition]

It's that time of year again. Your child has finished one of the primary grades and you are looking for a gift for that special teacher. Her desk is covered with "things" labeled "teacher" and you want something that will let her know just what an impact she has had on your child. Mrs. Spitzer's Garden is the perfect gift. I discovered this title while searching my library for a picture book about gardening that I could incorporate into a kindergarten story time. Yes, it is about gardening but by reading deeper and studying the illustrations, it quickly becomes apparent that the author is saying more about the teacher and her class than an actual garden. I purchased this book for a retiring Kindergarten teacher because it was her and her career in picturebook form. She loved it and and I plan to gift other terrific teachers with this book in the future.

I got this book for my triplets Kindergarten teacher. It is a perfect book for a great teacher. The story is so touching and made me cry.

A friend told me about this book and since then, I've given it to all my children's teachers. The illustrations are lovely - it is touching and sweet.

Ms.Spitzer cultivates every manner of plant--the slow bloomer, the wild weed, the late sprouter--the way good teachers cultivate learners. Not with tests, not with homework, but with love and patience, care and certainty that effort will be rewarded. If you have a child in kindergarten, please please please buy this book and give it to the teacher as a gift for some holiday--along with a packet of your favorite seeds and a picture of your child. If you buy the book for yourself and lend it to ANY teacher, you're not likely to get it back. It's that good. I wish every principal in every school would read this out loud at the first faculty meeting of the year, too!

What a joy to read! The illustrations are beautiful and add details to the reading. It's summertime and the principal gives Mrs. Spitzer some seeds to plant in her garden. She does all the right things and up come the sprouts. Plants and children--a wonderful analogy of what goes on in a classroom during the year. Teachers, you can't miss making the text-to-self connections. Kids love to hear this book too.