Bo and the Community Garden is about a schools' garden. The students need to decide what to plant. They learn the importance of having a garden. Bo's life continues through this early chapter series featuring diverse characters.

I received an electronic ARC from Lerner Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Bo and his friends are excited by a new school project - their school now has a community garden. The four friends argue and then resolve their disagreement to model how friends respond to each other. They decide to grow vegetables for the local shelter. Readers see them figure out what to plant and plant the seeds. The book finishes before the seeds have even sprouted but leaves readers to use their imaginations to decide how well the project succeeds. The illustrations capture the character expressions and the work involved in gardening.
I appreciate the realistic relationships and letting readers draw their own conclusions on how this will go.

Bo and the Community Garden is a charming and engaging story for middle grade readers by Elliott Smith in a series of books about Bo and his friends. Due out 1st Jan 2023 from Lerner Publications, it's 32 pages and will be available in library binding and paperback formats.

Representation is so important for everyone, but especially kids. This series of books, about a boy and his friends, shows the everyday life of Bo, who lives with his grandfather (Pop-Pop). Pop-Pop owns a barber shop and he and Bo live above the shop. As Bo goes about his daily business, readers see a kind, intelligent, and enthusiastic kid. In this installment, Bo's class is allowed to decide what they want to plant in the class areas of the school community garden. They have to decide amongst themselves, resolve their differences, and make plans what to do with their vegetable harvest.

Despite being only 32 pages, there are really good takeaway lessons about friendship, planning, gardening (obviously), kindness, and empathy. The art, by Subi Bosa is colorful and full of small details which invite readers to take a closer look.

Five stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, for home use, and for activity/scouting groups, as well as for school and community gardens.

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