Planting Hope

By: Frederick Joseph

Published by Candlewick Press (MA), 2026-03-03

A child discovers a secret ingredient for nurturing plants--and for helping ailing loved ones, too--in this tender story by a two-time New York Times best-selling author celebrating the power of hope. Everyone in Henry's family loves plants and gardening. So why can he never get his little plant to grow, no matter how hard he tries? His mom has been able to grow anything since she was young, and even cultivated a whole orchard to help feed people who were hungry. Henry imagines his mother as a great tree, with branches wrapping around the whole community. "People and seeds have a lot in common," his mom likes to say. "If you want them to grow strong, nourishment and sunlight aren't enough--they also need hope." When Henry's mom becomes sick and it looks like she may not recover, this belief that she's sown in her son becomes key to what happens next. Frederick Joseph, award-winning author of The Black Friend, offers a bighearted story about keeping hope alive in the face of grief--and a gentle allegory with an upbeat message about healing a fragile planet.