I read this graphic novel on a monday morning and it was exactly what I needed. The art is absolutely amazing, the scene with the blossom?? It's absolutely gorgeous. I loved the story aswell, someone that doesn't stick to what is 'normal', but rather follows their inner wantings. It's so wholesome, exactly what I expected from a graphic novel that's published by Oni Press.

Thank you Netgalley and Oni Press for the eARC in exchange for an honest review!

This graphic novel tells the story of the sprites who used to be the caretakers of all the gardens and flowers, now not so much because of humans involvement. The story focuses on Wisteria, a whimsical sprite who's goal is to get things back the way they used to be, with a little help of course. I had such a blast reading this gem of a graphic novel, it was such a joy to visit this world! The art blew me away, it was so detailed and intricate. The colouring really added so many layers to the story. I also appreciated how diverse all the characters were, even the sprites! I smiled and laughed throughout reading this book, and was also surprisingly touched as well. Many, many sweet moments. This graphic novel is sure to brighten up your day. It's a quick read, but it leaves a lasting impression! I'm a huge plant lover, so this was right up my alley. An incredible debut novel!

This short and sweet graphic novel got me out of my reading slump, and I highly recommend it for days when you’re down in the dumps and faced with a garden that refuses to grow.

Since the humans arrived and took over the responsibility of caring for nature, the sprites are listless and their days feel empty. Many of these are spent laying on the grass, trading barbs about good and bad examples of gardening. Wisteria, our main sprite, wants to do more and lands herself in a new garden to help.

The novel turns the usual messianic figure/magical friend trope on its head by making this a story of friendship, purpose, and community. Woven in between Wisteria’s attempts to do everything by herself are Elena’s and the other sprites’ frustration: Why can’t they help? Are they not good enough that she has to do everything alone?

Wisteria, Elena, and the sprites all have their own internal struggles, and I can relate with everybody. Wisteria wants to do the job on her own. The sprites feel useless without their main purpose. Elena is devastated that her whole work is invalidated. I love how the authors treated each arc with care and love, and none of the characters’ experiences are deemed less important than the narrative. To have them all achieve fulfilment in the space of less than a hundred pages is a great feat, and I love every frame of this emotional journey. After closing this book, I feel nothing but deep joy. I look at my own “garden” of toxic tweets and dead leaves, and maybe, with enough magic and effort and smiles from everyone, I can make it a brighter place.

I have so much to say about the art style because it’s so beautiful that it makes me want to cry. I love the color palette used here! I don’t have enough of art vocabulary to describe the bright pastels and shades, but I do know that these are the kinds of colors that would make me stop doomscrolling through my Twitter feed and that I would automatically retweet. The greens, red-pinks, and purples are all so fresh and vibrant, giving me a glimpse of a colorful and magical world beyond the four walls of quarantine.

The character design is also so well-done! All the sprites have distinct personalities, and it’s easy to see how much love and care go into developing every member of the gardening party. They all feel so alive to me, and I find myself mirroring every expression on Wisteria’s face.

My only wish is that this would be a collection of short stories about their gardening adventures. I would have loved reading more about Wisteria and her crew’s attempts to maintain Meadowcreek(?) and revive other dying gardens. Or maybe their ups and downs of discovering which duty or skill they are good st? Or maybe I just want to live in this bright and soft and hopeful world a little bit longer.

Overall, I have nothing but good words for The Sprite and the Gardener.

Cute story. The art style and storyline together gave me a Smurfs/Manga hybrid vibe. I feel like it's more suited to younger audiences but still an enjoyable read for us older folks who just want to take our minds off of life.

This was such an adorable read, the sprites were so cute and colourful, and it was such a happy book to go through. It was really short and quick but filled my heart with happiness. The drawings were stunning and went so well with the plot. I will definitely be checking more things out by this author.

Marvelous! Simply wonderful!

What beautiful illustrations, nice story.

I was moved by each page. I felt the magic in each panel. Fan of the authors but above all now a fan of the illustrator.

This is a cute little book to read for spring. I think it's geared towards an elementary audience as it is not a super deep book. This book as themes of friendship, and teamwork, and a little bit of family. I would have really liked to see this book dive deeper into history of the sprites, the reason the mother has to work so much, and why Wisteria moved to a new town. As such, this book was just okay for me. I had higher hopes going into this book, and overall I wouldn't necessarily recommend it unless you have a little one at home that would like to read it, and look at the gorgeous artwork.

It’s really a nice “feel good” story in terms of involving gardening. Gardening is known to be a big boost for mental health so this story really depicts it so well. This story actually gives you the “Thumbelina” vibes in terms of little Wisteria interacting with the girl (can’t remember the name damn) and the art is just so adorable!

Big thanks to Oni Press and Netgalley for lifting my spirits up a bit during the ongoing pandemic!

Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read and review this.

This was pretty adorable! I would definitely get this for my niece.

This was just soooooo cute. I am in love with the sprites <3 <3 T
his was a beautiful comic and I think that everybody should read it in the summer (it has summer vibes). It has nice illustrations and it was very quick to read. The story isn't very complex, but it is perfect for children. I truly enjoyed, I just hoped it was a bit longer

I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my opinions. I loved this sweet graphic novel. It was a simple story about working together and using our strengths. The illustrations were bright and charming. I would absolutely suggest this book to readers who love fairies and gardens or just love graphic novels! The characters were a beautiful mix of skin colors and body shapes.

I loved this short whimsical graphic novel. The illustrations and colors, especially of the flowers and other plants were lovely, and the character designs were super cute. The story is about the strength of cooperation and friendship, but wasn't too corny. My 7 year old also really enjoyed it.

The artwork in the "Sprite and the Gardener" was absolutely STUNNING!! I can't wait to buy this for my library and my own collection, and then stare the art forever! A beautiful and wholesome story about fairies who learn to guide the growth of plants and nature along side humans.

This was such a beautiful and wholesome read, and I completely whizzed through it. The characters are so loveable, and you find yourself really rooting for both Wisteria and Elena to be successful. The central messages of teamwork and all pulling together make it applicable to children of all ages, but I think the art style is probably more suitable to late primary and early secondary.

I will definitely be recommending this to students, particularly those less confident in their literacy skills, who benefit a lot from picture-reinforced storytelling.

I wanted to read this graphic novel because of the beautiful cover and I‘m absolutely blown away by the art. All the illustrations are stunning and the colour palette used is amazing. The story is sweet but very simple and just made me smile the whole time. It‘s great for younger readers and has a lovely message. The most beautiful gardens are the ones we grow together.

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for an arc of this graphic novel!

This was a quick and absolutely adorable graphic novel about friendship and working together.
As the story goes, a long time ago Sprites used to tend to all plants on the earth, until humans took over and they took a backseat. But one Sprite doesn't want to sit back and watch a gardener struggle to make plants bloom, so she takes initiative into her own hands (and wings).

The pictures in this book are beautiful and it has such a cute message. It was a very quick read, and definitely entertaining!

Pub Date: May 4, 2021

The Sprite and the Gardener follows Wisteria, a sprite, who wishes she could be like her ancestors and use her magical talents to help take care of gardens and nature. This graphic novel fills me with pure happiness - it's just so magical and whimsical.

First of all, the illustrations are gorgeous. The colour palette is absolute perfection - I wouldn't change a single thing - all of the delicate pastel colours compliment each other and the storyline. The character's faces have manga-style artwork, which I thought actually worked really well with the character's personalities. My favourite thing has to be the little sketches at the end of the book, and original WIPs from the draft stage. It shows the development of the story and how it went from being one singular comic page, to a 90 page graphic novel.

It's a super quick read, but I really like how it still emphasises the importance of friendship and the community as well. For a debut, I think this is fantastic, I most certainly will be rereading at some point, and would love to buy the hardcopy when it's released.

I would recommend this to fans of 'The Tea Dragon Society', and anyone wanting to dip their toe into graphic novels (also would be great to read with your children!)

In a world where fairies exist, we meet Wistera, a little flower fairy. She and the other flower fairies have been taking care of earth's flora since the beginning of time. But since humans appeared, they are sort of out of job, because mankind can grow their flowers by themselves, without the fairies' help.

One day, as Wistera aimlessly wanders, she sees a little girl, Elena.
Elena tries to plant some flowers in the garden of her home, but it is clear that she struggles, since the flowers are barely alive.

Wistera becomes enamoured with Helena's smile and love for flowers and gardening and decides to help her.
Everyday, she sneaks in the garden and helps the plants to grow and bloom. But eventually, she is discovered by Helena.

Helena admits to Wistera that she has turned to gardening as a way to make up for her mother's absence, because she works long hours to make ends meet, and that when she was little, they used to plant flowers together.

The fairy and the girl decide to help each other. And by putting their gardening skills and magic together they make the entire garden bloom.

Unexpectedly, more children and more fairies join Helena and Wistera, putting their own skills to use too. And little by little, humans and fairies become friends, while an entire neighborhood is covered in beautiful flowers. The story ends with Helena's mother returning home early and joining her daughter and her new fairy friends in the garden.

This is a beautiful story that children, and not only children, can enjoy.
I loved the fantasy elements and the beautiful messages of friendship, of helping each other and of taking care of the environment, since all of them I find extremely important.

The characters were likeable, I loved the representation (one of the two main characters is a black girl who is being raised by a single mother) and the designs were out of this damn world. Plus, the anime/manga influences are clear.
My only complain is that the text is next to or under the illustrations instead of being in bubbles inside the panels, like it happens with other comics and graphic novels, and that sometimes makes it tricky to understand whose words you are reading.
But other than that, I loved this story and I would love to have it added on my bookshelves.

This was such a lovely read! I loved every second spent in this incredibly wholesome story.

The story wasn’t overly complex, so it left a lot of room for visual storytelling. I’m always annoyed when comics/graphic novels/etc have a lot of dialogue, but this really allowed the art and visuals to carry the weight of the story. I loved that! The dialogue was used just the perfect amount for this sweet short read to be compelling and to get a sense of the characters.

Sprite and the Gardener is a heart-warming story that is perfectly suited to those into the cottagecore aesthetic, gardening, and stories centered on teamwork and giving. I adored this graphic novel!
I think the individual sprites all had such beautiful designs. It made me so happy to see Wisteria gain more confidence as she developed her skills on her own but I know it meant more to her to be able to do it with Elena and her new Sprite friends. I especially adored seeing the sparkle and light in Elena's eyes when the first flower bloomed. Another element of the story that made me overjoyed was that Elena wanted to fix up the garden as a surprise to her mother who was unable to tend to the garden due to her work schedule . My only wish is that there was more to the story but I am glad we were able to see the result of the work of the sprites and the gardeners throughout the neighborhood.

3.5 stars

Thank you to Netgalley and Oni Press for providing an e-ARC!