Demi's Secret Garden

by Demi, John Keats (Contributor), Hung Ying-Ming (Contributor)

This magnificent picture book unfolds in two-, three-, and four-page spreads to reveal insects and other tiny creatures on a dramatic, grand scale. Included in this collection are both familiar and exotic creatures, accompanied by classic poems by Shakespeare, Whitman, and others. Each creature is interpreted in a combination of mixed-media and patterned papers. Full color.

Genres: Poetry

46 pages, Hardcover

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Demi (September 2, 1942) born Charlotte Dumaresq Hunt, is an award-winning children’s book author and illustrator. During her career she has published over 300 titles.

Demi was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is the great-grand daughter of the American painter William Morris Hunt, and the great-grand niece of architect Richard Morris Hunt. Demi earned her nickname as a young child when her father started calling her demi because she was half the size of her sister.

She studied art at Instituto Allende, Mexico, and with Sister Corita at the Immaculate Heart College in Los Angeles. She was a Fulbright scholar at the Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, India where she received her Master’s degree.

Demi is known for her biographies for spiritual figures including Buddha, Krishna, Lao Tzu, Jesus, Mary (mother of Jesus), Muhammad, Rumi, Francis of Assisi, Gandhi, and the Dalai Lama.

In 1990, Demi and her husband Tze-si “Jesse” Huang represented the United States at the First Children’s International Book Conference in Beijing.

Source: Wikipedia

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eighteen poems from a diverse range of sources—celebrated western authors such as Shakespeare, Blake and Keats; classic eastern authors such as Basho, Li Po and Hung Ying-ming; Chinese nursery rhymes, Bible verses—are paired with gorgeous full and multi-page paintings from American author and artist Demi in this picture book tribute to the beauty and wonder of tiny insects and spiders. The collage art, done with paints and patterned papers, depicts a range of creatures, from honeybees and dragonflies to walking sticks and daddy long-legs, with many of the paintings taking up three, or in one glorious case, four pages, with fold outs creating a marvelous display. The book closes with a brief section giving more information about the insects and arachnids described in poetry and art...

Demi's Secret Garden is really a very lovely book, with a selection of poems and poem snippets that capture the charm and appeal of these tiny creatures, and artwork that magnifies them by many degrees, and depicts them in gorgeous colors and designs. I loved many of the poems here, from Blake's The Fly (accompanying the depiction of The Housefly)—"If thought is life / And strength & breath, / And the want / of thought is death; / Then am I / A happy fly, / If I live / Or if I die"—to the quotation from Shelley's To... (accompanying the depiction of The Great Gray Owlet Moth)—"The desire of the moth for the star, / Of the night for the morrow, / The devotion to something afar / From the sphere of our sorrow?" I also loved the artwork, which was just beautiful, and a pleasure to peruse. This doesn't appear to be one of Demi's better-known books, from the paucity of online reviews, but I think it is one very deserving of attention, for its presentation of such a diverse range of poetic quotations, and for its wonderful artwork. Recommended to young poetry lovers, and to insect and spider lovers as well.

[Annie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Demi's Secret Garden is a beautifully illustrated book of poems for children. The poems are short, often no more than a few lines. The pictures are large, and some pictures even fold out, to create a picture that is three or four pages longs.

The poems are all about insects, and come from a collection of Walt Whitman and Chinese nursery rhymes.

Some of the words are rather difficult, so it may be best for an adult to read to a child. However, all children would appreciate the beautiful art. Recommended for all ages.

[reveurdart · Rating 4 out of 5]

The desire of the moth for the star,
Of the night for the morrow,
The devotion to something afar
From the sphere of our sorrow.
- Percy Bysshe Shelley