Using rhyme and rhythm the author shows a sequence of events. These events build up after one another to form a story. A boy drops his books which leads to one thing after another. From these events a fiasco is caused in a restaurant. I would use this book to teach rhyme, repetition, and sequencing. ( )

In the books I've read thus far, I've learned of Polacco's beloved grandmother, her divorced mother who became a teacher, her rotten red headed brother Ralph, the teachers who influenced her, her uncle, her inventive, color-blind father, and the children whom she bonded with as a child.

In this book, we meet her husband Enzo. This is a celebration of Enzo and his Italian restaurant and his garden.

A play on words, this is a comedic rhythm of what occurs in Enzo's garden when a small boy dining at the restaurant mistakenly drops a book to see a bee hovering nearby.

Setting in motion one mishap after another, as people trip and fall landing on each other, spaghetti flies everywhere but on the plates.

While, not one of my favorites, it is worth the time and energy spent to read. ( )

In Enzo's Splendid Gardens s a cumulative tale where actions build on each other on every page. This book is about the chaos that ensues all because a little boy dropped his book to look at a bee. I love reading this book and would read and share with children pre-k through 3rd grade. ( )

When a roving bumblebee settles on a tree in Enzo's lovely outdoor Italian restaurant, a series of slapstick mishaps occur - a boy drops his book, in order to look at the bee; a waiter trips over the boy's book, and spills his drink on a matron in pink; the matron starts up, and bumps into two other ladies - until the entire place is in shambles, the cook's cat has retreated (covered in spaghetti) to a nearby tree, and the fire department has been called out. It's chaos! And the rollicking repetitive narrative captures every humorous moment...

Having now encountered Patricia Polacco's mother, brother, daughter, grandparents, and other extended family - not to mention Polacco herself, at various ages - through the medium of her many autobiographical picture-books, it seems only appropriate that I have now "met" her husband Enzo! I'm trying to imagine the conjugal conversation that might have prompted this one: "You know, Honey, you've written a picture-book about practically everyone in the family, save yours truly..." Whatever the case may be, I enjoyed In Enzo's Splendid Gardens, and think children who appreciate cumulative tales will find it very entertaining. I like the fact that the cumulative refrain varied a bit - usually, in such stories, it is static - and that the artwork was even more over the top than is usual, in Polacco.

I don't know, despite its virtues, that this will ever be a favorite - I tend to think that Polacco does tear-jerkers better than comedies, although that could just be a personal preference - but this is still a solid contribution to a valuable body of work. ( )

Patricia Polacco creates a series events caused by a boy who dropped his book. The whole story is in a rhyming pattern. ( )