William felt a call to follow the Night Gardener and learn from him, just as the fishermen followed Jesus in the gospels. The creative work of the gardener can be compared with God’s creation in Genesis 1, examining ways that both God and the gardener bring light, color, order, and lively relationship to the world through their creations. Theological Conversation Partners: The Night Gardener, while not explicitly about faith at all, can inspire some great faith conversations. For him to be welcomed by the Night Gardener as a co-creator, and to be gifted with his own pair of clippers was probably more meaningful because of his lack of other resources (family, money, etc). We don’t know a lot about economics on Grimloch Street, but we do know that William lives at the Orphanage. However, the neighborhood that begins to develop into community is made up of people with different colors of skin, different ages and abilities. How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? There are no explicit references to diversity in this book. Through this invitation and teaching, William discovers his own abilities and gifts. So many rich details on each page mean that the reader can see something new each time the book is read! The gentle spirit of the Night Gardener is portrayed in his kind eyes and his invitation to William to help him. The work of the Night Gardener is shown in color, and as he continues to work, the book fills up with color! The reader also begins to see neighbors interacting, animals coming out to play, and a generally liveliness beginning to spread. The people are bundled up and have hats pulled down, and none of them are interacting. When the story begins, Grimloch Street is depicted as bleak and colorless. Literary elements at work in the story (Genre/setting/characterization/plot/theme /point of view/style): The authors use the illustrations to tell this story, along with few, but meaningful words. The Night Gardener disappears, and his work fades from view, but the neighborhood and William have been forever changed. After a night of trimming and learning, William wakes to find a pair of clippers of his very own. One night, William discovers the identity of the Night Gardener, who invites him to become a co-creator. Day after day, their neighborhood is transformed, not just by the art of the Night Gardener, but also by neighbors beginning to work, play, and marvel over the trees together. A young boy named William is captivated by this tree, which has been turned into an owl. Summary: One morning, Grimloch Street residents awaken to find that a once-ordinary tree has been turned into a work of art. Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Author: The Fan Brothers (Terry Fan & Eric Fan)

The night gardener the fan brothers