Umm, can I have a Sprite to help me with my garden, too?! I wasn't sure I would like this book much as I'm not usually into fantasy, but this is a sweet story about building a community!

Long ago, before humans appeared, sprites used to be the ‘sole keepers of flora’. Cut to the present day, we follow Wisteria, a sprite, who is yearning to learn more about her roots and the roles that sprites used to hold. After a faltering attempt at fitting in as the new sprite, Wisteria stumbles into a human’s dying garden where she uncovers her long-lost magical powers and does whatever she can to bring this human’s garden to life.

Okay, this graphic novel is AMAZING! The illustrations alone are so bright, intricate, and beautifully done. While the story is probably more tailored to a younger audience, anyone can read it. It’s a great, lighthearted, pick-me-up that just warms your heart. The friendship that the human and Wisteria develop is also the sweetest. If you’re a gardener/plant lover, this is for you!! If you’re a garden/plant murderer then maybe there’s hope??

Thank you NetGalley and Onipress for my copy!

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

I loved this soft, enchanting, sweet comic. The art is so delicious to dive in and the story is so soft to the heart. I read this while I was going through some rough week in my life and it was such a heart-warming read.

This graphic novel is really cute and wholesome. It has fairies, humans, flowers, friendship, group work, love and magic. It's just beautiful. The only "issue" I had was with the coloring, but other than that is really sweet book. The drawing has a similiar style to "the tea party".
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BR: Esse quadrinho é fofo e esquenta o coração. Tem fadas, humanos, flores, amizade, trabalho em grupo, amor e magia. É bem bonito. O único "problema" que eu tive foi com as cores usadas, mas fora isso é uma história bem lindinha. O traço é parecido com o "the tea party".

This was such a cute graphic novel. I was inmediatly drawn by the cover because it looks so magical and it definitely didn't dissapoint in that regard. We follow the story of a sprite (who were caretakers for gardens) but are no longer needed since humans started taking care of the gardens themselves. However, Wisteria our main character discovers a very sad looking garden and a human that was trying to take care of it so she decides to help. This graphic novel was so magical and whimsical, I loved the illustrations and the little details on each drawing and part of the stories. Highly recommend.

"Sprite and the Gardener" by Rii Abrego; Joe Whitt was a comfort read filled with magic.

I was captivated by the illustrations which are made up of the most beautiful pastels and extreme saturations. I truly loved looking at each page.

The story itself is short and sweet; refreshingly uncomplicated. It's a story about growing; growing a garden, growing spiritually and growing together.

In this short graphic novel, sprites used to be the one and only caretakers of the Earth and all of its plants until humans came along and started gardening. Now sprites don't do a whole lot or remember how to garden. Now they keep to themselves and hide from the humans. Then a new sprite comes to garden named: Wisteria. She starts asking questions and contemplating gardening alongside the humans. What will happen when the Sprites come out from hibernating?

First off I thought Wisteria was adorable! She is shy and timid but as she starts to work with plants she finds her own magic and confidence. Her becoming friends with the young human gardener through their same desire to learn how garden is great too. I liked that the gardener was actually upset when she found out that Wisteria was behind all of the new life in her yard as it lead to a better arc to the over all story; sometimes we just need a little guidance instead of a whole project being done for us.

Overall I really enjoyed this graphic novel and think it's the perfect quick read for anyone who's looking to find some magic within their own backyard.


Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

This is a beautiful graphic novel that explores the existence and loss of magic and the effect humans have on nature. It dives into the beauty and wonder of nature and it's almost magical quality.

Sprite and the Gardener is a feel-good comics about a Sprite named Wisteria who discovers joy in taking care of plants and making them bloom again. Together with a young human girl, they revive her mother's dying garden.

It's a quick and heartwarming read. The art-style is pretty cute.

Thanks Netgalley and Oni Press for sending me an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Do you like flowers? Do you believe we should have more green spaces? Do you like stories that show harmony between humans and fairy-like creatures? If you said yes to even one of the above, then you will enjoy Rii Abrego’s ‘The Sprite and the Gardener’.

“In the distant, distant past, sprites were the caretakers of life. With an array of mysterious, wondrous powers…and alliances and knowledge passed down for generations…they were the sole keepers of the flora they relied on…until humans appeared.”

Humans took over the upkeep of gardens and the sprites found themselves having more and more time with nothing to do. We are introduced to a group of sprites who are sitting around and chatting about some of the neighbourhoods they’ve been to. After some time, one of the sprites, Wisteria, who appears to be new to the group wanders off to explore the area. She comes to a house with an unkempt garden. She puts some of her skills to work, she meets the gardener, and then things begin to change for both.

At just under 100 pages, The Sprite and the Gardener is a very quick read. If anything makes the process slow, it’s the illustrations, which are just bursting with colour. You would definitely take time to stand and stare.
The tale itself is simple and charming with messages about friendship, diversity, and the importance of integrating nature into our lives. It’s very interesting that the gardener is devoid of any overt features that would designate a gender thus making the character quite open, relatable, and identifiable to anyone.

A short, sweet book which is perfect as a breezy interval read.

Big thanks to Oni Press for the ARC.

This is a beautiful graphic novel full of beautiful pastel yet vibrant artwork. The story is very simple but beautiful and is told primarily through the images, with text every so often to move the story along.

The story follows sprites who used to tend to nature and use their magic to help the plants bloom, but when the humans came they were no longer needed. However, Wisteria (who seems to be new) is very interested in the world and when she sees a human trying to unsuccessfully regrow a plant, she steps in to help them. When she sees the girl is very happy with the growth of the flower, she decides she wants to do it more to help. The other sprites make it very clear that in their eyes they are not needed anymore and should be helping the humans but Wisteria continues to secretly help the human. However, one day she gets spotted and they start to work together to grow the garden for Elena's mother. Wisteria then encourages the other sprites to help and they all grow the garden back into a beautiful place, bringing Elena and her mother together outside again.

It was entertaining, it's something you can read in a while, the illustrations are very beautiful, I loved it in general.

The Sprite and the Gardener is a wonderful graphic novel with stunning bright and original artwork. The characters are mostly floral isnpired garden sprites, with flowing flower petals and floral names. I adored how different they all looked, whilst being obviously sprites compared to the human companions in the book. The artwork is bright, focusing on pinks and purples mostly and has a magical feel. I loved the showing of magic throughout, as well as the quality consistency of each panel.

The story feels a bit fairytale like, of garden sprites who no longer help with gardening due to the humans of the world. However the spin is that we’re following the Sprite rather than a human child who finds magic, and we get to re-discover the sprite magic from Wisteria as she brings about her powers that Sprites have mostly forgotten about so far.

Whilst our main character is new to the neighbourhood, all the sprites are mostly friendly. The moral of the story is working together and teamwork in order to create the best outcome which is the garden in this case. The connection between the sprite and the gardener, the sprites, the gardener and her mother were all well written and developed over the story arc. The friendships added to the cosy feel of the book.

At the end of the novel there’s a selection of concept pages showing off the illustrators work. It was great to see the orignal ideas, and how they differed to the final piece – as well as some of the thought process that went into creating this amazing piece of creative.

The Sprite and the Gardener is a beautifully illustrated gentle tale of friendship and mutual respect by Rii Abrego & Joe Whitt. Released 11th May from Oni Press, it's 88 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook/comiXology formats.

This is *such* a beautifully told story. I was completely captivated. The art is perfect for this story, lightly whimsical and ethereal. There is a misty quality which reminds me in some ways of the best of this style of drawing, P. Craig Russell and Linda Medley for example. In some ways the sweetly whimsical and gentle storytelling style reminds me a lot of Katie O'Neill's Tea Dragon Society books and I would heartily recommend this one to fans of any of the above artists/authors.

Five stars. One of my better reads this year and a good selection for public or school library acquisition as well as all-ages reading.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

First of all thanks to netgalley for providing me with SpriteandtheGardener, I'll be honest with my review.

The graphic novel tells us how the fairy magical beings have helped in the care of nature, they are responsible for the existence of each silver, and each fairy in its design has characteristics of some plant / flower, however, with the passing of time and the presence of humans, fairies no longer actively participate in the care, however one day a new fairy begins to question and one day by accident ends up helping a human in the care of a garden.

the story is short, but beautiful, it tells us about teamwork and wanting to feel part of something. The illustration is beautiful, with the details in the backgrounds of nature that leave you enraptured, I recommend it to read regardless of the age of the reader, it is to enjoy adults and children.
For me it deserves 5 stars out of 5 and it will always be kept in my heart.

I'm a fan of stories of magic in transition. Here we have a world in which modernization has reduced the need for magic, weakening the power of magic. Specifically we have sprites reduced from being the whole force behind growing things to something close to scavengers. Through this plot they reconnect with the "old ways", finding a new approach that uses both their old skills and the new technologies to build not only a garden but a whole community. A sweet and gently story.

This was a really nice read! The color scheme is gorgeous as well as the design of the characters. The storyline is endearing, it is something that could be a good book to read with children. I look forward to what the authors will put out in the future!

Thank you Oni Press for handing me a digital copy.

I got an eARC from Netgalley and I really enjoyed the art and the flow of the story. It’s a real enjoyable read that can suit kids as well as adults. I never felt any disconnect from reading it which I often encounter when reading comics/graphic novels so I’m quite happy about this one 🥰

Adorable fairy tale about a sprite who wants to join forces with humans so that sprites and humans can work together to tend to our planet's plants.

This is such a sweet graphic novel with a lovely moral and the prettiest illustrations. It's the first time illustrations have made me feel relaxed (?? i know) but they're just so.. wonderful. So gentle.

The gist of the story is that the sprites have basically retired because humans are doing all the garden-work themselves now, but Wisteria comes across an overgrown yard and a young teenager trying to bring it to life. The sweetest tale of friendship and working together without being cloying and forcing a moral onto the reader.

Note: I received this for free from NetGalley and OniPress for reviewing purposes.
This is aimed at very young children, but all the same, it doesn't tell a very compelling story. The artwork is very pretty and the color palette is easy on the eyes too. I did not enjoy the writing. It was 100% on-the-nose but you still don't get much of a sense for the world, and by the end, there is nothing piques curiosity for wanting to see more of the world.