posted on 09 Jan 2018

The Night Gardener by The  Fan Brothers

I was first attracted to this strangely haunting picture book by the cover which shows a young boy looking up at a tree that had been fashioned into the shape of a huge owl set against a moonlit sky. It promises something magical but familiar at the same time and on the turn of the page we are in Grimloch Lane, a place peopled by shuffling figures busily going about their everyday lives, all avoiding our eye contact. It is drawn in sepia colours that give an initial sense of claustrophobia and nostalgia.

Then the mood shifts as we see a jaunty looking elderly chap walking past a young boy who sits idly drawing with a stick on the ground. The man is carrying a long ladder, rug and shoulder bag and the colouring is still in sepia tones. Next the colouring changes back to the blueish grey tones of the cover and when the man kneels down to unpack his tools, it becomes clear that he is a gardener of some kind.  Indeed, as the full moon is peeping out behind a tree, he is probably the eponymous ‘Night Gardener’.  All this action all happens prior to the title pages which show him busily about his topiary work and our view of the scene is at more of a distance so that we can see he is in the garden of ‘Grimloch Orphanage.’

Now back to the boy looking out of his window onto the garden in the morning, who turns out to be William and is evidently one of the orphans. The message seems to be that life at the orphanage is generally pretty grim but that this world is suddenly given colour by the magical transformation overnight of the ordinary tree into the shape of an owl.   William is transfixed and waits to see what might happen during the following night. Sure enough, more trees are mysteriously made into extraordinary shapes and on the second morning there is even more colour in his world as he and the other children look up in wonder.

The magic continues over subsequent nights and soon gets attention from everyone passing by who point and smile at the cleverly shaped trees in their environment. This not only changes the trees but has an effect on everyone’s state of mind so that the community is transformed into one that seems more hopeful and happy, taking time to appreciate the beauty of the trees and spending time enjoying being outside together.  The piece de resistance is a magnificent dragon which is the cause for celebrations that last ‘long after the sun set’.

After this high spot, the mood shifts again as we see William following the Night Gardener and as he heads for Grimloch Park, he turns and asks for his help. They work through the night and William wakes to find that he has played his part in the transformation of the landscape. The seasons come and go and eventually the extraordinary topiary grows out and fades away. But the important change has stayed with the community and ‘the people of the small town were never the same.’ Towards the end of the book we see a street with people taking a pride in their environment and spending time enjoying life together, children play in the streets and sell homemade lemonade to people passing by, everything is now full of colour and set against a beautiful pink evening sky. Perhaps they might benefit from a change of name for the place to inspire the now more optimistic way of living? 

William has also changed and the final pages show him posed on one knee in the bluish grey moonlight, echoing the stance of the original Night Gardener at the start of the story. He is busily fashioning a fox from a bush and represents the next generation who need to keep taking care of the environment and using his skills to make it beautiful and appreciated.

This is a quietly impressive picture book which uses colour to help get across some important messages about hope and the capacity for change. It is written and illustrated by the very talented  brothers, Terry and Eric Fan who live and work in Canada. It is fascinating to find out that both have extensive training in art and design and have an interest in a wide variety of artistic techniques and genres including sculpture and film. These are reflected in the layered quality of this beautiful picture book which deserves to be pored over and relished by readers of all ages.

Karen Argent

January 2017