about the book
William is astounded to wake up one morning to find an owl sculpted into the tree just outside his room at the orphanage on Grimloch Lane. It’s beautiful, like nothing he—or anyone else in town—has seen before!
The next night, the mysterious night gardener creates another masterpiece in a tree. And the next, and the next….
Soon there’s more life in the small town than ever before! When the night gardener disappears, will the town continue to thrive or will things go back to the way they were before?
about the author/illustrator
Terry Fan was born in Illinois, but raised in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada. He and his little brother Eric were drawing before they could read or write. Their collaboration dates back to the first book they create about dinosaurs and the undersea mural on the walls of the bedroom they shared.
As the older brother, Terry started his formal training at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto first, but Eric soon joined him. To start getting his work out in the world, Terry submitted t-shirt designs to a site called Threadless. Eventually, agent Kirsten Hall found Terry online and offered to represent him. Naturally, Terry called his brother and Eric snuck in on the deal, too.
The Fan Brothers’ first picture book, The Night Gardener, was inspired by one of their first collaborations and their father, a philosophy professor who is kind of like Dr. Dolittle: “he’s a beekeeper, he breeds parrots, he has peacocks, roosters, horses, dogs, all kinds of birds.” Essentially, he revered all growing things.
The Night Gardener was a joint effort from beginning to end—even in the artwork—between both Terry and Eric. One of them would draft an image, digitalize it, and the other would add elements, move things around, or add color. When one of them needed a fresh perspective, they show it to the other one. “We’re very honest with each other. We’ll say, ‘That’s not working.’ And there’s always a suggestion about how to fix it.”
Terry is almost completely deaf in his left ear. In noisy situations, he does his best to read lips and just nods even though he doesn’t know what’s being said. If someone speaks to him from behind, he often won’t hear. As a result, he doesn’t like parties and events.
Terry lives in Toronto.
Sources:
Author/Illustrator website
Author/Illustrator biography: Simon & Schuster
Author/Illustrator spotlight: Publisher’s Weekly
Author/Illustrator interview: KidLit 411
Book trailer: The Night Gardener
Also by Terry Fan:
The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2016.
about the author/illustrator
Eric Fan was born in Hawaii, but raised in Toronto, Ontario, in Canada. He and his older brother Terry were drawing before they could read or write. Their collaboration dates back to the first book they create about dinosaurs and the undersea mural on the walls of the bedroom they shared.
As the younger brother, Eric began his formal training at the Ontario College of Art and Design in Toronto after Terry. To start getting his work out in the world, Eric submitted t-shirt designs to a site called Threadless. Eventually, agent Kirsten Hall offered to represent his brother. Naturally, Terry called Eric and he was able to sneak in on the deal too.
The Fan Brothers’ first picture book, The Night Gardener, was inspired by one of their first collaborations and their father, a philosophy professor who is kind of like Dr. Dolittle: “he’s a beekeeper, he breeds parrots, he has peacocks, roosters, horses, dogs, all kinds of birds.” Essentially, he revered all growing things.
The Night Gardener was a joint effort from beginning to end—even in the artwork—between both Eric and Terry. One of them would draft an image, digitalize it, and the other would add elements, move things around, or add color. When one of them needed a fresh perspective, they show it to the other one. “We’re very honest with each other. We’ll say, ‘That’s not working.’ And there’s always a suggestion about how to fix it.”
Unlike his father, Eric struggles to keep even a single plant alive. He has a passion for vintage bikes, clockwork contraptions, and impossible dreams.
Eric lives in Toronto.
Sources:
Author/Illustrator website
Author/Illustrator biography: Simon & Schuster
Author/Illustrator spotlight: Publisher’s Weekly
Author/Illustrator interview: KidLit 411
Also by Eric Fan:
The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. 2016.
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Who was Grandpa Green? He was farm boy, a kid with chickenpox, a soldier, a husband, and—most of all—an artist. See this garden? Grandpa Green created it. Now his great-grandson maintains this garden of memories. What else can be learned from the sculpted greenery?
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The city has demolished an old building and left nothing to fill it on Marcy’s block. When spring rolls around, Marcy gets a brilliant idea: why not plant a big ol’ garden where the building used to be? Together, Marcy and her neighbor Miss Rosa rent the lot and get to work planting beauty in their community!
The Darkest Dark by Chris Hadfield
By day, Chris spends his time piloting his cardboard-box rocket, battling aliens, and traveling to far-off planets. But by night, he’s terrified of every shadow and only finds safety in his parents’ bed. When Chris watches Apollo 11 land on the moon, he realizes that the dark can be beautiful. Can he overcome his fear of the dark and pursue his dream of becoming an astronaut?