I received a copy of this book through Netgalley. This is my honest review.

This is a fun story about a girl who expects to almost magically and instantaneously grow on her birthday, as if being a "whole" year older makes her a very different person. Her father uses an avocado seed to show her that growing doesn't happen over night, but instead takes time.

I'm not sure how relevant the message of the story is (neither of my children ever seemed to think that their growth would happen quickly, but just because I didn't experience it doesn't mean it doesn't happen somewhat regularly). But the care with which the father explains things to his daughter is something every child should experience. And I liked how there were detailed instructions for growing your own avocado see in the back of the book. The illustrations felt rather wispy.

Overall I give Avocado Magic 3.7945 out of 5 stars.

This was such a cute book! I love how it also gives you instructions at the end for growing your own avocado tree. This makes it so much more fun for children and in a way their book comes to life.

The artwork is gorgeous. The text was..okay? Nothing really wrong with it, it's just not exciting. Her dad kept repeating the same thing over and over.

Thank you to NetGalley & NorthSouth Books for providing me with an e-arc of this in exchange for an honest review. This review is of the published version.

Wonderful story, greatly illustrated where, through the growth of an avocado plant, the young main character learns how to grow up herself.

A sweet tale about growing up and the magic that we are born with, and how we can grow with it. I loved the writing, illustrations, and message of the story.

My daughter's name is Ellie. Very short but made me a bit emotional. It's a short story how a Dad made a great impact to his daughter's life. Love this short. :)

I was initially drawn to this book as I have an obsession with avocados and have tried to grow a plant for many years (and unfortunately failed!)

The illustrations are really thought provoking and beautiful. The story itself is about a little girl names Ellie who wants to grow her own avocado plant and during this time learns to have patience. It also has a beautiful message about believing in yourself.
Ellie wants to grow taller and on her birthday she is does not seem to have grown at all. Her father tries to explain that growing takes time.

Very sweet book, and even as an adult it tugged on my heartstrings. Definitely recommend reading!

This book is a short and sweet picture book. It is not exactly a graphic novel with panels, but it depends heavily on the graphics to enhance the reading experience.
Even adults will need to hunt deep to find the patience to garden since the results take forever to appear. This story is of a child whose life starts to parallelly grow with that of an avocado seed. She is restless when the process begins, but the green-hued book guides us through her passage through time as well as the avocado as well.
The colours and the people are drawn with emotional overtones, and the entire short volume took a very short time to read from cover to cover.
Since this is a short book in itself, my review cannot be any longer! I would highly recommend this for both children and adults. It can spark conversations about expectations and patience.
I received an ARC thanks to NetGalley and the publishers, but the review is entirely based on my own reading experience.

‘Avocado Magic’ with story and art by Taltal Levi is a children's picture book about the nature of time.

Ellie wants to grow quickly, but her father explains that it takes time. He plants an avocado seed to prove his point, but little Ellie wants it to grow quickly. She is told that patience and care will yield results. She checks the plant daily and over time, the plant, and Ellie grow up with the kind of patience and nurturing that her father told her about.

The story is gentle and charming and accompanied by wonderful illustrations. There is a rhyming cadence to the prose and this should be a hit with young readers.

Avocado Magic is a story about having patience and growing up. Ellie is sulking. It was her birthday yesterday and she hasn't grown up. She is the same size as the day before her birthday. Her father tells her a secret. As they sit under their avocado tree, he tells her she is like the pit of an avocado. It is small, but full of magic or potential. She has to be patient. They place the seed in a glass of water by the window and each day watch it grow. The message of course, is realizing potential and not to rush growing up. The illustrations are delightful and I enjoyed the symbolism of the avocado. The back of the book has an illustration and direction for growing your own avocado which is a nice bonus, unfortunately, we can't grow them in our area due to our weather. Overall a cute book that I will read to my rather impatient grandchildren when I return home.

A lovely and timely addition to a library collection, and perfect for a storytime on the power of gardens and plants.

The premise of this story is delightful; a little girl struggles to understand why it takes so long to grow up, and her father plants an avocado seed to help her understand. What I didn’t like about this book was the element of magic on almost every page, and the environmentalist slant that came through on the last page. Overall, it is a beautiful picture book with a delightful story, but with elements that mean I won’t be reading it to my little girls.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

This was a lovely book about being a child [and learning to enjoy being a child], patience, and how we grow [using an avocado from a beloved avocado tree that they sit under for parties and the such] and all the beauty we see along the way. It is a lovely story between a father and a daughter and then the daughter and her child when the daughter has grown. Filled with absolutely gorgeous illustrations and an author's note at the end on how to sprout an avocado seed to grow your own tree, this is a lovely book that littles will go back to again and again. Very well done.

I was asked to read/review this book by the publisher, NorthSouth Book, INC and I thank them and the author, Taltal Levi for providing the book in exchange for an honest review.

Ellie loves to celebrate her birthday under an avocado tree. Shortly after Ellie’s birthday, she voiced her frustration, she expected to have grown. She was a year older, so she should be taller.

The picture book introduced the magic of growing plants and family encouraging her to have patience, the magic does not show immediately. The book intrudes nurturing by having Ellie showing care to her plant and she showed wonderment when the avocado started to grow.

Thank you Taltal Levi, NorthSouth publishing, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this charming book.

Truly a delight! This would be such a lovely giftable book. The colors, the flow of the words - just beautiful. Keep up the magical work (no pun intended).

Touching, sweet, lovely, and treasured are all words I'd use to describe Avocado Magic. When little Ellie wants to rush growing up, her father lovingly teaches her that not all things in life are fast. She must have patience and enjoy growing up, and treasure those in her life.

This story is very touching and my personal favorite is the intergenerational love between Ellie, her father, and Ellie's child later on. It's a perfect way to gently remind children to slow down and appreciate their childhood and it is very well done.

Perfect story time read and great for rich discussions on growing up!

Thank you to NetGalley and Northsouth for providing me with this ARC. All opinions are my own.

My thanks for the ARC goes to NetGalley and NorthSouth Books. I'm voluntarily leaving a review.

What a warm and delightful story about growing up!

I love the color palatte in the illustrations—they're vibrant and fresh like new growth. This is a tender story that adults are going to love too.

I highly recommend this book.

Happy reading!

Such cute illustrations and quite a nice story. The steps to grow an avocado is nicely written for kids. Thank you the author, the publisher, and Netgalley for sending me this e-ARC.

Thank you to the author, NorthSouth Books and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This beautifully illustrated children's book tackles the issue of patience and realizing that growth happens slowly, and even when we don't see it, using the image of an avocado seed that grows and flourishes. We ended up planting our own avocado seed, following the helpful instructions at the back of the book, and the kids I read this book with have referred back to the lessons imparted several times already. Highly recommend.

If you’ve ever tried to sprout your own avocado you’ll relate to Ellie and this story. A beautiful story, wonderfully illustrated, it’s an exceptional gentle tale about the magic of and patience needed when growing up. The prose is fantastic and this is a must addition to your child’s selection of books.