Millie Fleur's Poison Garden

June 17, 2024
The sign at the entrance to Garden Glen boasts “a picture-perfect place,” a phrase that hints at the neighborhood’s stifling conformity. But young Millie Fleur—who’s vaguely reminiscent of Wednesday Addams in Mandin’s measured, sepia-toned digital illustrations—changes all that when she and her mother move into a lone, decrepit gothic house on the edge of town. Pet frog in tow, Millie plants a garden that is gloriously unruly, filled with anthropomorphic plants whose names include “sore toothwort,” “tentacled tansy,” and “grumpy gillyflower.” The town elders declare the garden “poisonous,” but Millie rallies her classmates and teacher, who “all agreed... Millie Fleur’s garden was wonderfully weird!” The child’s example doesn’t completely unleash the forces of unconventionality in Garden Glen, but final images depict homeowners expressing themselves, at least in their horticultural pursuits. Millie and her mother are portrayed with pale skin; background characters are shown with various abilities and skin tones. An author’s note concludes. Ages 2–6.