Look carefully. There may be a gem in your garden. That is the lesson that a granddaughter teaches her grandmother - and that the grandmother then memorializes in the treasured keepsake of a picture book that she paints for the little girl.

For nearly four decades, watercolorist Holly Hobbie has drawn inspiration from the wonders of nature. During one especially hard winter, she found herself imagining the story of a determined toad's spring journey. Her vivid depiction of this endearing creature's glorious yet fragile world is a sparkling celebration of survival and renewal. From the muddy brown road outside a farmhouse to the sweet-smelling garden to the cool lily pads in the pond, readers will feel their senses rejuvenated by Holly Hobbie's gemlike, detailed paintings in this nearly wordless work.

There are 32 pages in this book. This is a picture book. A picture book uses pictures and text to tell the story. The number of words varies from zero ('wordless') to around 1k over 32 pages. Picture books are typically aimed at young readers (age 3-6) but can also be aimed at older children (7+). This book was published 2012 by Little, Brown & Company .

Holly Hobbie has worked as an artist for more than thirty years and is the author of ten previous and highly acclaimed Toot & Puddle picture books, as well as an illustrated memoir, The Art of Holly Hobbie.