All That Grows

From Boston Globe-Horn Book Award winner Jack Wong, a story of a boy who discovers that the more he learns, the more there is to know!

On their neighborhood walks together, a boy learns from his older sister all about the plants they see -- magnolias that smell like lemon cake, creeping weeds that used to be planted for decoration, and even how dandelion greens can be eaten with spaghetti! But what makes a plant a flower, vegetable or weed, anyway? How can his sister tell, and how does she know so much?

The boy's head spins as he realizes how vast the universe is and how much there is to learn ... until he resolves to let his knowledge grow in its own way and time, just like the mysterious plants he has decided to nurture in the garden.

Award-winning creator Jack Wong brings us a delightful, nuanced story about cultivating patience and letting knowledge grow.

Key Text Features

dialogue

illustrations

Correlates to the Common Core States Standards in English Language Arts:

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.2

Retell stories, including key details, and demonstrate understanding of their central message or lesson.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4

Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.

CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7

Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.

JACK WONG (黃雋喬) was born in Hong Kong and raised in Vancouver, BC. He left a career as a bridge engineer to pursue a Bachelor of Fine Arts at NSCAD University in Kjipuktuk/Halifax, NS. All That Grows owes to all of the above -- to taking a leap to learn new things, and to the sanctuary of big neighborhood walks in a small city, especially during the first spring of the pandemic. Jack is also the creator of the national bestseller When You Can Swim, winner of the Governor General's Literary Award and the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award.