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Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood
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About Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed A
Product Description As featured on Humans of New York “Hartland’s joyful folk-art illustrations bop from the gray-toned jazzy vibrancy of a bustling city neighborhood to the colorful harvest of a lush urban farm.” —The New York Times “An inspiring picture book for youngsters with meaningful ties to the environment, sustainability, and community engagement.” —Booklist Discover the incredible true story of Harlem Grown, a lush garden in New York City that grew out of an abandoned lot and now feeds a neighborhood. Once In a big city called New York In a bustling neighborhood There was an empty lot. Nevaeh called it the haunted garden. Harlem Grown tells the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration. Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families. The incredible story is vividly brought to life with Jessie Hartland’s “charmingly busy art” ( Booklist) that readers will pore over in search of new details as they revisit this poignant and uplifting tale over and over again. Harlem Grown is an independent, not-for-profit organization. The author’s share of the proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to Harlem Grown. Review Hillery, the founder of Harlem Grown, narrates how an urban farm grew from an abandoned lot across the street from Harlem’s PS 175: “Nevaeh called it the haunted garden. It was cluttered with wrecked couches, old TVs, broken bottles, and empty cans.” When “Mr. Tony” visits the school and sees “those kids and that haunted garden,” he gets an idea. Working together, Mr. Tony and the kids clear the lot, bring in clean dirt, and plant. When plants wilt, he says, “We’ll plant something different” and builds raised beds until, finally, “tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, blueberries, strawberries, collard greens, kale, basil, arugula” grow, and the children share their harvest with their families. Hartland’s gouache illustrations wobble endearingly, colorfully capturing the children’s triumph, and the kinetic energy and colorful vibrancy of the city neighborhood. An author’s note about Harlem Grown and straightforward instructions for how to “start a garden anywhere” conclude. Ages 4–8. (May) -- Publishers Weekly ― February 3, 2020 In his debut children’s book, Hillery creates a visual history of the organization he started, Harlem Grown, which was born after he visited an elementary school and noticed an abandoned, litterfilled lot nearby. Hillery had the idea to initiate an urban gardening project and began to clear the lot and plant seeds with the help of the school children. Gouache illustrations in fitting earth tones carry a childlike look and energy that matches the uplifting story, where hard work (and teamwork) is deliciously rewarded. This delivers a vibrant tale that is about more than growing plants; Hillery’s vision helped to transform and mobilize the entire community to positively impact the environment. This book delivers on the vision and hopes we all want to instill in children, and it imparts an underlying message that one person can make a big difference. An inspiring picture book for youngsters with meaningful ties to the environment, sustainability, and community engagement. -- Booklist ― March 1, 2020 Ideas plus action yield big rewards is the premise of this debut picture book, written by the founder and executive director of Harlem Grown, a New York City community garden collective. The text offers a historical account of the ori
