About
Written by Mélina Mangal and vividly illustrated by Ken Daley, Jayden’s Impossible Garden tells the story of Jayden, a Black boy who loves imaginative play, being outdoors, and making things. Jayden’s love of nature will inspire readers to see their environment and surroundings as bursting with opportunities for growth and connection.
Amidst all the buildings, people, and traffic in his neighborhood, Jayden sees nature everywhere: the squirrels scrounging, the cardinals calling, and the dandelions growing. But Mama doesn’t believe there’s any nature in the city. So Jayden sets out to help Mama see what he sees. With the help of his neighbor and new friend Mr. Curtis, Jayden plants the seeds of a community garden and brings together his neighbors—and Mama—to show them the magic of nature in the middle of the city.
A section at the back of the book features a note to readers from the author, a handful of nature facts, and activity directions to make the milk jug bird feeder and coffee container planter found in the story.
Juvenile Fiction/Community, hardcover, 40 pp., full-color, 10ʺ x 10ʺ , Ages 4–9
Author
Mélina Mangal
Working at the intersection of nature, literature, and culture, Mélina Mangal’s writing highlights youth whose voices are rarely heard, and the people and places that inspire them to explore their world. She is the author of short stories and biographies for youth, including The Vast Wonder of the World: Biologist Ernest Everett Just, winner of the Carter G. Woodson Book Award and named an NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People. Mélina also works as a school library teacher and enjoys spending time outdoors with her family, whether it’s in her backyard or hiking in the woods.
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