  | Full Text Reviews: Booklist - 02/15/2010 Aunt Mary tells her nephew to take care of a special rosebush, and “one day there will be a little bit of you inside of it. And a little bit of the rose inside of you.” Douglas can only see a plain old bush until Aunt Mary tells the story of the rosebush from the time her father and grandfather planted it to when the war changed their lives. Details in the wonderfully realistic watercolors convey the 1950s time period, and sepia-tone illustrations of photos from a family album capture moments in a simpler time: hand milking and squirting some into the cats’ mouths, churning butter, and sliding down the barn roof. Douglas is depicted throughout wearing suspender-topped bib overall shorts and cowboy boots—an idealized portrait of a bygone childhood that may affect adults more than young ones. Still, Wood’s story proves that a rosebush can be more than just a rosebush; in this case, it’s a living thing that creates a poignant bond between generations. - Copyright 2010 Booklist. School Library Journal - 04/01/2010 K-Gr 3— Wood offers a slice of family history that exemplifies the intertwining of generations through tradition. On a visit to his great-aunt Mary's house, young Douglas is given the task of watering a large rosebush that was originally planted by his great-great grandfather and tended by four generations before him. Aunt Mary tells how her young nephews—Douglas's dad and uncle—came to live on their grandparents' farm ("Something had happened, and they needed a place to live…that's what families do. They take care of each other. They love each other."). She recalls some of the boys' shenanigans, their enlistment in the service during World War II, his uncle's death in the war, and his parents' marriage. Pham's soft watercolor paintings feature sepia-toned "photos" of the family during the 1930s and '40s, and color paintings of young Douglas, Aunt Mary, and his parents circa the 1950s. Except for the rosebush, the story is somewhat similar to that of countless families of the pre-boomer generation, and it provides a brief introduction to rural farm life during that era.—Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH - Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Loading...
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