The Gardener of Alcatraz: A True Story

Gr 1-3--Prisoners sent to the forbidding island prison Alcatraz had few opportunities for meaningful work, which makes the story of Elliot Michener quite remarkable. Michener, convicted counterfeiter, spent much of his early time there devising ways to escape. The opportunity to become a prison gardener, however, gave his life new meaning. Not only did he transform the drab land surrounding the prison into a landscape bursting with color, but Michener was invited to help out at the warden's house. Michener was eventually released from prison, after which he went to work on a farm in Wisconsin. Though this is the story of one man at one notorious prison, the author subtly conveys the need for more humane treatment of all prisoners given the possibility of better outcomes for their lives post-incarceration. The small amount of text on each page and the appealing artwork make this an engaging read. Michener and the other main characters are all white, while other prisoners are a variety of ethnicities, a fact not lost on the author, as she explains in a note. Pair this with Jennifer Choldenko's Al Capone Does My Shirts, also set on Alcatraz. Extensive back matter includes a time line, historical photographs, further information about Michener and Alcatraz, and a selected bibliography. VERDICT A fascinating look at a minor historical figure, sure to inspire discussion.--Sue Morgan

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Elliott Michener (1906-1997) lies in bed on the prison island of Alcatraz, where he's just arrived following conviction for counterfeiting. Shadows of bars fall across his face as he contemplates escape. But after a good deed singles him out as "someone honest," he's charged with creating terraces for gardens beyond the prison fence. Finding the work fulfilling, Michener transforms the island, winning recognition as a gardener ("He even created his own narcissus hybrid," Smith writes) and being "promoted" to handle personal housekeeping for the warden and his wife, whom he befriends. Ely's vintage-style spreads trace the island's outward transformation from drab to variously hued as "this gardening thing started to grow on" Michener--starting with colorful blooms that emanate from a book he reads in his cell. Though back matter eventually raises some contemporary issues around incarceration, this portrayal of Michener as a "jailbird" who grew "an honest-to-goodness green thumb" fails to interrogate its own uncontextualized portrayals around the U.S. prison system, including mentions of "riots" and "promotion" within prison labor. Ages 7-10. (Apr.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

♦ Here's the thing, see: with The Gardener of Alcatraz: A True Story, Emma Bland Smith and Jenn Ely have created this really terrific picture book biography of a crook who turned his life around. And get this: the narrator sounds like an old-movie tough guy right outta the story's setting! As the narrator puts it after the crook goes straight, Swell!
What happens is, after this guy Elliott Michener gets busted for counterfeiting, he's sent to Alcatraz, the roughest, toughest prison there is. At first Michener isn't sold on rehabilitation—he figures he'll break out and maybe take up counterfeiting again, or else knock off a bank. But when he finds a key in the prison yard, does he try it in every gate at the joint? Naw—he turns in the key! So the guards let Michener help with the gardening. And holy smokes, the jailbird likes the job! Sure, maybe not for the right reason at first....
With The Gardener of Alcatraz, Smith (The Pig War) has produced a humane and moving story, and Ely (If You Were a Kid Building a Pyramid) captures the emotional nub of every scene, using a gloomier palette to reflect Michener's darker days and a brighter one to reflect his expanding horizons. Back matter offers historical context (the year that Michener landed at Alcatraz—1941—is curiously missing from the main text) and discusses changing attitudes toward rehabilitation: Today experts know that giving incarcerated people meaningful work is important and worthwhile. Swell!
—Shelf Awareness Reader, starred review