Review of Gifts from Georgia's Garden

How Georgia O'Keefe Nourished Her Art

A TRUE TALE WITH

A CHERRY ON TOP

Neal Porter Books

(Holiday House Publishing)

(pub. 3.19.2024)

40 pages

Ages 4 - 8

Author: Lisa Robinson

   Illustrator: Hadley Hooper

Character: Georgia O'Keefe

Overview:

" Most of us have heard the name Georgia O’Keeffe— she’s one of the most famous women in art history. But did you know that for most of her life, she lived on her own land in New Mexico, grew her own food, bought locally, and even made her own clothing?

Georgia’s garden and her art fed and enriched one another, just as her bean plants enriched the soil and her home-grown feasts fed her friends. In spite of the era’s prejudice against female artists, Georgia lived and thrived in her verdant sanctuary well into old age."

Tantalizing taste:

"And so,

beneath the wide skies of New Mexico,

inside adobe walls,

within this artist's imagination,

the seed of an idea took root:

to grow a garden.

A garden of her own...

Georgia grew old in her garden sanctuary,

and even when she became blind,

she continued to tend her garden and paint."

And something more: The author, Lisa Robinson, shared that "a story in the New York Times about the sale of Georgia's handwritten recipe cards inspired me to write this story. Georgia enjoyed cooking with the fruits, vegetables, and herbs she grew in her garden."

The Back Matter includes one of Georgia's cookie recipe, pecan butterballs, shown in her handwriting in the book.