By Jenan A. Matari
32 pages, hardback, for children aged 3 to 8 years
An imprint of Crocodile Books, 2025, $19.95 from Interlink Publishing
Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden is a tender, evocative picture book about a young Palestinian girl and her beloved Jiddo – her grandfather – whose garden overflows with life, love, and memory. In Jiddo’s garden, everything grows: fig trees, fragrant herbs, and, most importantly, a deep connection to identity and home. As the two work side by side, the girl learns that tending the earth is more than caring for plants – it is an act of remembrance and resilience, a way of holding on to stories, traditions, and the hope of return. Jiddo teaches her that while their family was forced to leave their homeland, the seeds of Palestine still live in their hearts and hands, blooming wherever they are planted.
This deeply moving debut picture book by Jenan A. Matari, an award-winning Palestinian American storyteller, explores themes of displacement, belonging, and the enduring connection between people and their land. Matari, known for her powerful advocacy and storytelling that focuses on identity, resistance, and culture, infuses every page with authenticity and warmth. As actress and activist Diane Guerrero reflects, “Jenan writes from a place deep within that we all share – a place where love is so abundant it can never stop growing.” Palestinian American activist and creative director of Watermelon Pictures, Alana Hadid calls the book “the children’s book I wish my father had been able to give to me as a child.”
With striking, richly detailed illustrations by Aya Ghanameh, a Palestinian artist, writer, and designer, Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden captures the emotions of life in exile. Ghanameh’s art, grounded in her family’s own experiences of displacement, mirrors the story’s power, portraying a garden that is both a physical space and a living memory for home, heritage, and hope.
Critics have praised Everything Grows in Jiddo’s Garden as “a poignant tale that voices the hopes and heartaches of many diasporic Palestinians” (Kirkus Reviews). Foreword Reviews calls it “a heartfelt picture book” where “the home rooted in his heart sprouts hope,” while Publishers Weekly celebrates it as “a tender, yearning work about how the home in Jiddo’s heart ‘makes everything grow.’”
Together, Matari’s lyrical storytelling and Ghanameh’s stunning visuals create a timeless celebration of love, family, and the unbreakable bond between people and the land that shaped them. Even far from home, this story reminds readers, young and old alike, that what we tend with care, memory, and love will always continue to grow.
