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The whole listening singing buzzing calling whirring dancing weedy world is filled with friends.

The Weedy Garden

This debut picture book from acclaimed and New York Times bestselling author Margaret Renkl—with collage illustrations by her brother, fine artist Billy Renkl—invites readers to observe and wonder about the various inhabitants in the vibrant ecosystem of a wildlife-friendly backyard garden.
 
If you were hungry squirrel in the weedy garden, where would you find an acorn? If you were a cottontail rabbit, where would you hide your bunnies? And if you were a child, sitting still and listening, what would the weedy garden say to you?
 
Margaret Renkl, a beloved regular contributor to The New York Times and two-time recipient of the Southern Book Prize, writes beautifully about our changing natural world. In her debut picture book, she asks questions that draw young readers deeper and deeper into the garden, inviting observation and conversation along the way. Each page turn introduces a new plant or animal friend, buzzing and dancing with quiet wonder. The fine artist Billy Renkl, Margaret Renkl’s brother and frequent collaborator, brings the weedy garden to life through his signature mixed-media collages.
 
Includes backmatter with more information about the residents of the garden, eco-friendly gardening tips, and instructions on how to make your own collage art project at home or in school.

Order signed and personalized copies of The Weedy Garden from Parnassus Books!

 

Or order unsigned copies anywhere you like to buy books.

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“The natural world glows in these pages. This book pays attention to everything and reminds children to do the same.”

~School Library Journal

“Margaret Renkl invites readers to imagine themselves as different animals living among the thriving blooms. The succinct text. results in a soothing read-aloud, with poetic, sensorial language brimming with vocabulary-boosting descriptors that paint as vivid a  picture as the splashy multi-media collage art provided by Billy Renkl, the author’s brother. Bursting with primary colors, his deeply layered floral extravaganza pops. Linger over this exquisite garden filled with earthly delights.”

~Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

“Billy Renkl’s arresting mixed-media and collage illustrations showcase a wide variety of plants, some sharp in lines and deep in color, others soft and muted, as though they could be peeled back to reveal more of this hidden world. The rich evocative language paired with the second-person narration makes for a gentle read-together experience or a transitional book for readers gaining confidence.”

~Booklist

“A friendly message of creaturely community.”

~Publisher’s Weekly

Learn More about The Weedy Garden

For parents and educators, from Greenwillow Books:

Writing prompt
Art project
Coloring pages

Downloadable Resources

About

Margaret Renkl is the author of The Comfort of Crows: A Backyard Year, which won the 2024 Southern Book Prize and was Reese’s Book Club’s 100th pick. Her earlier books are Late Migrations: A Natural History of Love and Loss (2019), which won the Reed Environmental Writing Award in 2020; and Graceland, At Last: Notes on Hope and Heartache From the American South (2021), which won both the Southern Book Prize and the PEN/Diamonstein-Spielvogel Award for the Art of the Essay in 2022. The companion journal for The Comfort of CrowsLeaf, Cloud, Crow: A Weekly Backyard Journal—appeared in 2024. Her first picture book, The Weedy Garden, is out now.

For nine years (2017-2026) Renkl was a contributing Opinion writer for The New York Times. Her column focused on the flora, fauna, politics, and culture of the American South. (You can read the entire archive here.)

The founding editor of Chapter 16, a daily literary publication of Humanities Tennessee, and a graduate of Auburn University and the University of South Carolina, she lives in Nashville.


Check in with Margaret on Facebook,  Instagram, and BlueSky.

Margaret’s Team

Publicity, HarperCollins
Lindsey Triebel

Publicity, Spiegel & Grau
Nicole Dewey

Literary Agent, Empire Literary
Kristyn Keene Benton

Speaking Agent, Authors Unbound
Christie Hinrichs
View my speaker profile here.

 

Downloadable Media Materials

High-res author photo for Margaret Renkl
credit William DeShazer

High-res book jacket for The Weedy Garden

High-res book jacket for Late Migrations

High-res book jacket for Graceland, At Last

High-res book jacket for Graceland, At Last (paperback)

High-res book jacket for The Comfort of Crows

High-res book jacket for Leaf, Cloud, Crow

Mailing Address
5421 Highway 100 #59264
Nashville, TN 37205-9998