Interest Level: 3-6

What if someone you loved very much asked you to do something and then they got very sick? Would you do everything in your power to make it happen? That is exactly what has happened to the Vanderbeeker kids. While Isa is gone for three weeks at a music camp the other four Vanderbeeker kids see themselves having a completely boring summer. When tragedy strikes their beloved upstairs neighbors, Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet, the kids have to pull together to create a magical garden for them to come home to. With the help of their friends they work very hard to turn a run-down, overgrown old patch of land into a garden paradise. Just when things start looking up their dreams get crushed by a land developer wanting to build fancy, new condominiums in the exact location of their garden. Will Mr. Jeet and Miss Josie make it back to see their masterpiece before it is bulldozed? This is a must read second installment to The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street. New friends, old friends, and family all pull together but will it be enough? Read this delightfully charming book about this amazing neighborhood in Harlem.

I said in my review of book one that I would love to live in this neighborhood and have all of these people as neighbors. Book two only magnifies this. The Vanderbeekers have a magical community and you don't want to miss even one page of these books!!

I read this book aloud to my 8 and 12 year old and we all had a blast. We had enjoyed the first book about the Vanderbeekers and the second did not disappoint. Very similar in tone and dynamics to The Penderwicks, while also being their own unique family (and in a very distinct setting), I hope there will be more books to come about the Vanderbeekers!

The Vanderbeeker siblings are back for another adventure. This time they are determined to remake a vacant lot by the church into a garden for Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet. Mr. Jeet is in the hospital and they want it to be perfect for when he gets home. They enlist the help of others in the neighborhood to accomplish their mission and along the way find unexpected friends. I love the relationships of these siblings and how they act with each other and those around them. I also love the parents of the Vanderbeeker children. They are a bi-racial couple who are invested in the lives of their children and their extended family in their building. It is a fantastic second book in this series and I hope there are many more to come.

I received this book from Netgalley and it will be purchased by the library closer to its publication date in September 2018.

The Vanderbeekers are back!

This time its the summer holidays and the boring vacation routine is disrupted by the second floor neighbours in need. Mr Jeet had some health issues and the Vanderbeeker children want to cheer him and his wife, Miss Josie, up.

Having read the usual books children their age read, they come up with the "Secret Garden" idea - and still, would rather face Voldemort that enter the garden opposite, where a large "No Pass" sign is supposed to stop anyone from entering the garden.

Well, in typical Vanderbeeker fashion the children do their magic and some gardening, or don't they?

The Vanderbeeker kids are back in another charming story about generosity, being a good neighbor, and growing up. This is one of those gentle, feel-good stories where nothing much happens, except real life. The kids witness a beloved neighbor having a stroke, they struggle with their own emotions, and they learn that even kids who appear to have it all often don’t. The Vanderbeekers are definitely “free range” kids, and their adventures in their Harlem neighborhood are lovely if somewhat unrealistic. The kids are all written beautifully and the family dynamics are definitely something to aspire to. This is not a pareticularly special story in that it’s something “new” but it will be enjoyed by early to middle grade readers.

ARC Copy...It was delightful. It had the Harlem heart and community spirit soaking in the narrative's words plus reasons why bunnies are not allowed in hospitals hehe. I did liken the narrative is heavily linked with the "hidden garden" project which brings together the community (as highlighted by the plant demography of the end result) and the kids themselves are maturing as the project goes on.

Glaser, Karina. The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden. HMH Books for Young Readers, 2018

Four of the five siblings are at home for the summer, and they are about to tear each other's hair out when one of their neighbors is hospitalized and they decide to create a "secret garden" to help that neighbor recover upon their return home. Thus begins a summer of hijinx as they attempt to clean up a plot of land and acquire plants and tools on a very limited budget.

This is an adorably clean read, perfect for a summer family road trip or a classroom read-aloud. The four featured siblings are quite distinct from each other, yet united in their desire to help their neighbor. The story definitely has a Disney-esque happy ending, but that doesn't detract from the satisfactory story. Highly recommended.

Recommended for: middle grade
Red Flags: none
Overall Rating: 4/5 stars

Read-Alikes: The Lotterys Plus One, The Misadventures of the Family Fletcher, The Penderwicks

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley for the purpose of review.

The Vanderbeekers of 141st Street stole my heart in book one. In book two, The Hidden Garden, they did it again, but also inspired me and encouraged me. This is a family group that everyone wishes they could be a part of. Not just direct family, but community family as well. There is something about this brownstone that draws you in and immediately makes you feel like you are at home.
The Vanderbeeker children take on a new task of creating a community garden in secret after some members of their community family face some challenges. They pool their money, talk to experts and begin working together to create something truly amazing. They develop new friendships, learn to accept people for who they actually are, not who you THINK they are and inspire a community to bond together.
I didn't think it was possible, but I love the Vanderbeekers even more now than I did after meeting them in the first book.

I have absolutely fell in love with these books! I recommend the first one to anyone who will listen. I love the strong sense of community and the diverse characters. We need more of these type of books in children's and young adult literature. The feeling of family and doing what is right that comes from these books makes me so happy. I miss these characters once I'm done reading. I love that feeling. Please write more of these books!
#Netgalley #TheVanderbeekersandtheHiddenGarden #MUSTREAD2018

I love this series! The Vanderbeekers are a great family. This was a quick read and children will love it. The plot moved along at a great pace and needing to know if Mr. Jeet was okay kept me reading until the end. I can't wait to see what the siblings are up to next!

I’m reviewing The Vanderbeekers And The Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser after receiving access to an advance copy in exchange for my honest review via www.netgalley.com. My opinions are my own.
I read the first Vanderbeekers book after a glorious recommendation from someone whose opinion I valued. I had huge expectations that were completely validated and vaulted over. To say my expectations for this second Vanderbeekers adventure were high would be quite an understatement. That being said, if it’s possible to love two books most in the world I think that might sum up how I feel right now.
In this second installment we find the youngest Vanderbeekers on a mission to bring cheer to their beloved neighbors, Miss Josie and Mr. Jeet, by secretly rehabilitating a vacant lot into a community garden.
The strongest point of this book is the relationship the reader forms with these wonderful children and the adults in their lives. I feel like I know these kids! I finished the book with the overwhelming urge to donate to a Harlem community garden in hopes that it would bring a happy squeal from a real life Laney! Adding to the strength of the characters is the way the subplots weave throughout the central story. The garden quickly becomes a hub for stories of redemption, renewal, and friendship. Multiple opportunities for character education exist in the story without being too in-your-face.
The biggest weaknesses of the story, how four kids and a few friends could manage to clear and plant a full garden in a couple weeks without their parents or the land owner catching on, is easily waved off by the sheer delight these characters bring to the story. You can’t help but root for these little optimists and their little world even if that world is a bit too good to be true.
Additionally, as a classroom teacher I left this book buzzing with ideas about tie-ins such as a PBL unit on garden planning or a community history investigation to possibly uncover unknown or forgotten landmarks. The possibilities for a whole class or whole school book experience are great.
I hope this isn’t the last we hear from the Vanderbeekers! Be sure to put this on your shelf for everyone from precocious second grade readers on up! I think the greatest appeal will be from grades 3-6.

Do you ever read a book that makes you teary-eyed the entire time, because the book is just so lovely and wonderful? Because that's definitely what this book did for me.

I already fell in love with the Vanderbeeker family, a biracial family with five kids and their pets living in Harlem, while reading the first book in this series, The Vanderbeekers of 141st street. Every single member of the family is incredibly loving and caring, but they're also all their own person. Usually when I'm reading a book with quite a few characters they end up kind of blurring together, but that definitely didn't happen with this book. I can remember every single name and even the things that make each of these characters unique, and from someone as forgetful as I am, that's quite high praise. 

In this book, The Vanderbeeker kids try to create a garden for their upstairs neighbors, Mr. Jeet and Miss Josie, after Mr. Jeet has a stroke. The kids were incredibly worried about Mr. Jeet (and after falling in love with his character in book one, I was right there with them), but the fact that they managed to distract themselves by putting so much energy in making this garden was lovely to see.

I loved reading about the garden. I loved reading about the kids working in it, about them learning about plants, about them trying to save it, etc. And I also quite enjoyed all of the Secret Garden references. Just, the entire book was so wonderful.

One of my favourite parts about this series, though, is Mr. Beiderman, and the way that they treat him. Mr. Beiderman is their landlord, and (spoiler for book one) his wife and daughter passed away in a car accident a few years ago. Middle grade books often tend to glance over things like grief, but this one definitely didn't. Mr. Beiderman has an incredibly hard time sometimes, and the kids are incredibly respectful towards that. They try to cheer him up, but they also realize that they're not going to be able to fix the situation, and there's even a scene in which the youngest kid says "It's okay, Mr. Beiderman. Mama always says healing takes time."

Honestly, I love everything about this book. The characters, their adventures, the way it doesn't shy away from more serious topics, the messages it sends, etc. In my opinion, this is the perfect middle grade book, and I know I'll probably reread it many times. 

Also, in case you were wondering; yes, writing this review made me tear up again. Please don't judge me.

Writing: 4 Plot: 5 Characters: 5

I loved this young readers book. It is the second in the Vanderbeeker series and every bit as good as the first. It reminds me of some of my favorite series from childhood — the characters became my friends, and I couldn’t wait to go along on the next adventure.

The five Vanderbeeker children live with their parents on the bottom two floors of a brownstone on 141st in Harlem. When Mr. Jeet, the above floor neighbor, has a debilitating stroke, they decide to create a hidden garden in the abandoned lot adjoining the church as surprise for his homecoming. This simple plot line gives rise to opportunities for a whole array of neighborhood kids to contribute while learning about caring, friendship, and the ability to create beauty from nothing.

I love this book for many reasons. These people are regular people. They are neither rich nor poor. Taking place in Harlem, the cast is decidedly multicultural, and there are little hints as to different backgrounds — but that is not the point. Some kids obviously come from loving nuclear families, while others have absent parents, substitute parents, or bits of tragedy in their histories — but that isn’t the point either. These people come together as friends and neighbors; they care about each other and try to help each other out. The book unashamedly models good values and behavior, demonstrating friendship, caring, self sufficiency, and having the agency to make bad situations better. Five stars.