Gary’s Garden

Gary’s Garden is a series of short vignettes in comic strip form. Each mini tale focuses on a different scene in the garden. Characters include garden animals and insects.

Marketed toward children in grades two through five, the cover is colorful and appealing but a number of problems become apparent once reading begins. First, the font in the book is surprisingly small. It doesn’t make for very comfortable reading.

Another problem for sensitive caregivers and children is that most characters are particularly mean. There is an extremely high number of characters referring to others as “stupid,” “dumb,” “idiot,” and “loser.” There is also a passage when a squirrel says, “Any flippin’ idiot can get their paws on them now!” referring to his scattered acorns. For too many of the stories, these generally taboo words for children are the only punchline.

Overall, a flat and disappointing read.