Cornelia Funke is an author enjoyed by my children and whenever I discover a new book, I know she will not disappoint. Lets's first talk about that gorgeous color awash in shades of green (nicely partnered with its art complement, red). The cover adds a bit of mystery as the reader wonders about the plants on the cover.
Caspia has mixed feelings about spending the summer in Brooklyn. Her father took a construction job and her mother hopes to finally write a cookbook. And poor Caspia is wondering how she'll survive 12 weeks without her two best friends. They rent a quaint place that looks like it belongs in a different century with floral wallpaper and embroidered items all throughout. While Caspia was [hitting her things into the ancient dresser in her room, she discovered a ribbon-wrapped stack of letters. She was surprised to find out they were written in the 1950's and were a series of riddles about plants ("The Green Kingdom").
Those letters open up a new world to Caspia as she explores Brooklyn in order to solve the riddles. As she frequents various local businesses to find the answers, she also makes friends: young and old, with a variety of backgrounds. The friends she adds are like the varieties of plants in a garden--each with their own beauty and strengths. And each friendship teaches Caspia more about the Green Kingdom and, more importantly, more about herself.
The treasure hunt using plants is a genius way to interest young people in the fascinating history and little-known uses of common plants. I loved how Caspia's mother's love of cooking becomes part of the adventure as she finds recipes using the featured plants (if only the recipes were shared in the book!).
I loved how so many old-fashioned skills were interwoven into the book: gardening, cooking, embroidery, sketching & painting and letter-writing. I can see this book being a fabulous springboard into trying out all of those skills.
I really enjoyed the story and highly recommend with only a couple minor cautions. The topic of same-sex attraction comes up with one of Caspia's friends--felt like an unnecessary detail thrown in. And the other small disappointment was when one of the 12-year-old characters uses a swear word near the end of the book. The character was a very polite and well-behaved boy; it seemed totally out of character to swear, especially in front of Caspia's father (and presented as just normal dialogue). Why throw in one swear word for no apparent reason?
I am a huge advocate of reading aloud to children and in this case, I would definitely suggest doing so. This allows a parent to either talk about the elements mentioned above or edit them out. In the case of swearing, I am THAT parent that skips over cuss words in books--kids hear enough profanity everywhere else and I believe books should elevate the mind, not debase it.
It was truly a magical book in almost every other way. I did feel the book ended rather abruptly--sort of felt like a conversation was cut short. I think readers will feel a bit let down that there isn't more to the story. Perhaps that was to leave open the possibility of a sequel or to allow the reader to speculate on what Caspia's next adventures might be.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of The Green Kingdom from DK Children through NetGalley for the purpose of review. No other compensation was received, and the opinions expressed are entirely my own.
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