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WORK TITLE: Millie Fleur Saves the Night
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WEBSITE: https://www.christymandin.com/
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COUNTRY: United States
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Kirkus Reviews Jan. 1, 2023, review of Mandin, Christy: THE STORYTELLERS RULE.
Kirkus Reviews May 15, 2024, , “Mandin, Christy: MILLIE FLEUR’S POISON GARDEN.”.
Booklist vol. 120 no. 22 Aug., 2024. Worthington, Becca. , “Millie Fleur’s Poison Garden.”. p. 67.
Kirkus Reviews Apr. 15, 2025, , “Mandin, Christy: MILLIE FLEUR SAVES THE NIGHT.”.
Kirkus Reviews July 15, 2025, , “Mandin, Christy: BITTERSWEET.”.
CHRISTY MANDIN
AUTHOR. ILLUSTRATOR. MULTIPASSIONATE. JILL-OF-ALL-TRADES.
Christy Mandin is a New York Times bestselling children's book author and illustrator. She grew up in rural Georgia and credits her country life of solitude as an only child for much of her love of books and nature. You'll find this love of nature along with nostalgia, magic, and whimsy woven into the fabric of her art. When she isn't drawing she can be found gardening, beekeeping, or cozied up with a cup of coffee and the latest period drama on BBC or PBS. Christy currently lives in Georgia with her husband, 4 children, and a menagerie of animals and insects.
Christy is represented by Adria Goetz of K.T. Literary. For publishing related inquiries please contact Adria at Adria@ktliterary.com
CHRISTY MANDIN
AUTHOR. ILLUSTRATOR. MULTIPASSIONATE. JILL-OF-ALL-TRADES.
Christy Mandin is a New York Times bestselling children's book author and illustrator. She grew up in rural Georgia and credits her country life of solitude as an only child for much of her love of books and nature. You'll find this love of nature along with nostalgia, magic, and whimsy woven into the fabric of her art. When she isn't drawing she can be found gardening, beekeeping, or cozied up with a cup of coffee and the latest period drama on BBC or PBS. Christy currently lives in Georgia with her husband, 4 children, and a menagerie of animals and insects.
Christy is represented by Adria Goetz of K.T. Literary. For publishing related inquiries please contact Adria at Adria@ktliterary.com
Favorite Books, Comics, & Movies as a kid:
Frog & Toad by Arnold Lobel
The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Pippi Longstocking by Astrid Lindgren
Ramona Quimby by Beverly Cleary
Dennis the Menace
The Addams Family
Disney's The Sword in the Stone
Disney Classic Short Films
Current Favorites:
The Bad Mood and the Stick by Lemony Snicket, illustrated by Matt Forsythe
The Grotlyn by Benji Davies
Sam and Dave Dig a Hole by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen
Agatha All Along
Wandavision
Pixar
Practical Magic
A Discovery of Witches
Simply 7 with Christy Mandin & Giveaway: MILLIE FLEUR’S POISON GARDEN
July 30, 2024 / jenabenton
Today’s picture book interview includes a story for those who love gardens, the odd or different, a giveaway, and a jaunt with me down memory lane.
Poison Garden-MattLast year I went on a trip of a lifetime to the UK. You may have heard me mention this before. It was something my hubby and I had saved up for years to be able to do and it was a whirlwind tour. Along the way our guide decided that we must make a pitstop at Alnwick to view the gardens at a castle there. I had no idea that this castle was the one that shows up in films over and over again (like Harry Potter) or what all this town held. It was just an unannounced stop one morning on the way to somewhere else.
We took a quick stroll through a gorgeously elaborate garden (it really is stunning!) with many different sections (magical tree houses, rope bridges, a fairy tale kiddie play land with giant mushrooms, etc.) and passed by one section that you had to pay to enter and explore. We had no time, but I did manage to take a picture of my hubby in front of the entryway (and the water fountain within), as well as a stunning forged metal gate on another side of it. In fact, I was a bit obsessed with that gate (which I just realized today was stamped with a website of the maker on the flower I took a closeup picture of–I’ve been trying to read that stamp for over a year now!).
Gate1Gate2Gate3
Little did I know that those gates also guarded the infamous poison garden of Alnwick Castle that would inspire Christy Mandin to write and illustrate the story that we will be talking about today. I had no idea until I read the back matter in Christy’s book that was what I was missing (though my hubby said he already knew that). I was SO close, yet I only saw it from the outside! Funnily enough, the poison garden was NOT always a part of the estate, but financial troubles made the Duchess come up with a cunning plan to draw in tourists. If you watch the videos linked within here, you too will see some of the wonder of this amazing garden. It’s no surprise that Christy was inspired!
Christy Mandin - Author PhotoChristy Mandin is the author and illustrator of multiple picture books. She’s grown many interesting plants in her garden over the years but, so far, none with teeth or tentacles. She currently lives in Georgia with her husband and four children. You can learn more about Christy at her website or by following her on Instagram or on Twitter.
Screenshot 2024-06-10 at 1.04.56 PMMILLIE FLEUR’S POISON GARDEN introduces us to the delightful character or Millie Fleur who is different and find joy in just being herself. This doesn’t go over well when she plants strange things in the garden at her new house and the cookie cutter town she is now living in doesn’t like it. The HOA strikes, the town threatens, etc. BUT Millie Fleur is determined to show them that there’s nothing wrong with her garden. The plant names and illustrations, both created by Christy, are SO creative. I just loved pouring over every single illustration to find them all (and giggled quite frequently while doing so). I suspect that young readers will do the exact same thing.
Welcome Christy!
Me: Can you share about your journey? When did you start creating art and/or writing? How did that bring you to where you are now as an author-illustrator?
Christy: I am an only child and grew up in rural Georgia in the 80s and 90s. The country isn’t “walkable” like a city so neighbor kids weren’t found in abundance. We didn’t have cable or satellite TV, only what came through the airwaves on the regular television. And the rise of home internet hadn’t happened yet. So, I spent a lot of time in my own imagination – drawing, reading, creating, and watching reruns of The Addams Family, The Munsters, I Love Lucy, and The Disney Sunday Movie specials on ABC. I knew I wanted to be an artist from an early age. But I believed all that nonsense about “art not being a real job” for much of my young adulthood.
I lived a thousand lives and explored all manner of careers until I became so frustrated by not creating that I finally gave in. I landed a job creating art for retailers but that kind of art was missing a narrative quality that I craved. So I started illustrating mock book covers and little narrative scenes in my spare time and sharing them on social media. An editor from HarperCollins saw my art on instagram and reached out and I landed my first two-book deal! I’m not sure social media really works like that anymore. I feel really lucky.
Screenshot 2024-06-10 at 1.05.10 PM
Me: I love the concept of a girl planting a garden full of creepy plants. What gave you the idea for this story?
Christy: I’ve always loved The Original New Yorker cartoons of Charles Addams and how you had to really look for the gag in his art sometimes. And, the scenes where Morticia Addams feeds her carnivorous plant, Cleopatra, on The Addams Family TV series were always some of my favorites. So, when I stumbled upon an article about a real life poison garden planted by the Duchess of Northumberland in England, I knew that I wanted to write a story with the same vibes. My very next thought was, “Will a publisher even look at a picture book with the word “poison” in the title?!” Turns out, yes, enthusiastically!
Me: What did your illustration process for this book look like? Are you a traditional or a digital artist? Or do you use a blend of both?
Christy: My illustration process usually starts with a character design, even before I really have a story. It’s hard for me to write a story without really knowing who my character is and what they want. So I try to really refine my main character first. Then it’s on to character sheets full of poses and expressions. Seeing the character “doing things” and having a full range of emotions on the page often helps me move through the process of writing a first draft. I love the feel of real materials but, because I have a house full of kids and work on the go, I work digitally. Getting out the paints and supplies and being all over the place was a barrier to being able to create. So I use Procreate on the ipad and try to utilize different digital textures to feel less digital.
Screenshot 2024-06-10 at 1.05.14 PM
Me: I absolutely adore all of the plant names and designs all throughout the story. Not to mention, for “creepy” plants, you made them look so adorable! How did you think of so many different original and creative plants? Did you base them on real plants or just let your imagination run wild?
Christy: My creation process for writing and illustrating involves a LOT of post-it notes and aqua notes (a waterproof notepad and pencil I keep in the shower – where I get my best ideas). To create the plant names I started a list of spooky and gross attributes and a list of real life plant names that sounded fun on their own and Frankensteined them together. For instance, on my real life plant list I had plants like milkweed, nettle, fig, toothwort, tansy, and gilliflower. And on my attributes list I had sticky, slimy, sore, curdled, rotten, tentacled, and fanged. The lists were both quite long and not all the combinations I loved made it into the first book. But some made it into the next book. 😉 And maybe I’ll have enough Frankensteined plants for future books.
Me: That’s so fun! Which was harder: writing or illustrating this story?
Christy: That’s always a tricky question for me to answer because the two are so different and I feel like I have to be a completely different person to do both. So my short answer is they were both hard. But I’ll tell you this. Author-Me almost never considers how Illustrator-Me is going to draw the thing that was written. Curdled Milkweed sounded brilliant to Author-Me. But Illustrator-Me almost didn’t pull it off. A lot of wringing of hands until that one finally made it onto the page.
Screenshot 2024-06-10 at 1.05.17 PM
Me: Any advice for other new picture book writers and/or illustrators?
Christy: Keep your eyes on your own paper. I mean that in the most loving way possible. Because comparison will kill your creativity and this industry is fully subjective and very much a mystery even to the people in charge. What “hits” is equal parts hard work and luck. We’re all just out here trying to read the tea leaves on what the next big thing might be. And that makes it hard to hear your own voice. It’s easy to get caught up in “how good” you are compared to someone else and “trying to make it.” That’s a slippery slope. Just create the thing, send it out into the world, hope for the best, and get to work creating the next thing. It’s a numbers game. Create a LOT. And then create some more.
Me: That is SUCH great advice! Any other projects we can look forward to seeing from you in the future?
Christy: The next Millie Fleur book, Millie Fleur Saves the Night, publishes with Scholastic summer 2025. I also have a non-fictionish picture book, Bittersweet, about Operation Little Vittles and how one pilot’s small act of kindness sweetened the lives of children in post-war Berlin during the airlift in 1948, publishing with Simon & Schuster fall 2025. And a couple more things in the works that have yet to be announced.
I can’t wait to read those! Thank you for stopping by my blog today Christy.
Mandin, Christy THE STORYTELLERS RULE HarperCollins (Children's None) $17.99 3, 21 ISBN: 978-0-06-304735-8
A metanarrative about creativity.
A gaggle of cute-as-a-button office supplies hatch a plan as an end-of-year writing assignment looms for Birdie, a light-skinned girl. While the pens, pencil, marker, ruler, and eraser all have fun names, they mostly act as an ensemble. These anthropomorphic Storytellers plant clues to help Birdie follow the three storytelling rules: Writers should pay close attention to the world around them, remember that putting something on the page is better than nothing, and know there's only one person who can tell your story: you. Birdie, unaware of her magic helpers, struggles for inspiration and energy but acts on the hints. The dialogue is rendered in a chunky black font, while text in a plain font shares a play-by-play on some spreads. A palette of warm, bright hues and neatly shaded illustrations calms otherwise busy scenes. The actual issue of writer's block could be lost on some children, but they can enjoy the familiar wonder of walking in a park, working at a messy creation station, and letting one's imagination take flight. After meandering outside and working through an idea jar, Birdie is ultimately motivated by a simple Post-it note reading "What if ." While there is beauty in this simple solution, it does not spell visual or narrative intrigue for an already cerebral topic. For all the effort spilled onto these pages, nothing very interesting happens. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Underwhelming despite earnest efforts to inspire. (Picture book. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2023 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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"Mandin, Christy: THE STORYTELLERS RULE." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Jan. 2023. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A731562232/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=e75ac789. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Mandin, Christy MILLIE FLEUR'S POISON GARDEN Orchard/Scholastic (Children's None) $18.99 7, 2 ISBN: 9781339023274
A girl plants a fantastical idea.
Millie Fleur La Fae and her mom move to Garden Glen, where all the houses are "flawless" and identical--except theirs. Located on the edge of town, it's run-down and scruffy. Millie Fleur loves it, but something's missing. Fortunately, Mom brought seeds from Millie Fleur's old garden, which Millie Fleur plants immediately. They grow quickly, wildly, and weirdly, bearing names like Fanged Fairy Moss and Sore Toothwort. Garden Glen's Rosebud Club members are displeased; the club's president dubs them "poisonous." They're not, but, as Mom explains, "Some people are scared of things that are different." Millie Fleur loves her "wild, weird little garden" and invites her classmates to see it. Everyone visits the garden, including the teacher. All concur: Millie Fleur's garden is "wonderfully weird." Eventually, thanks to Garden Glen's Youth Plant and Seed Swap, bits of her garden work their way into other town gardens; soon, they're no longer identical, making Garden Glen "a truly one-of-a-kind place." This charming, low-key tale celebrates those who unabashedly find unconventional things exciting and reassures readers that it's OK to have off-the-beaten-track interests. The digital illustrations brim with fun; readers will be amused by the plants' bizarre appearances and names. Millie Fleur (who's reminiscent of Wednesday Addams) and her mom are pale-skinned; background characters are racially diverse.
No poison here; just a garden of delights about someone who improves things in a unique fashion. (note about snapdragons and spider plants, author's note) (Picture book. 5-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Mandin, Christy: MILLIE FLEUR'S POISON GARDEN." Kirkus Reviews, 15 May 2024. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A793537206/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=b530eb82. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Millie Fleur's Poison Garden.
By Christy Mandin. Illus. by the author.
2024. 40p. Scholastic/Orchard, $18.99 (9781339023274).
K-Gr. 3.
In Garden Glen, every house and yard are pristine and identical until Millie Fleur La Fae moves in. To make the new house feel like home, she plants seeds from her old garden. The fast-growing plants are fanged, tentacled, and glowing; she feeds them bones to help them thrive. The stuffy Garden Glen Rosebud Club thinks her garden is odd, unruly, and appalling. They protest it loudly, but Millie adores her Sneezing Stickyweed, Belching Huckleberry, and Fanged Fairy Moss and invites her class to come tour her weird, wild Poison Garden--which they all agree is wonderful. The messaging of being true to yourself and accepting and celebrating others' differences is proudly stationed at the forefront of this simple and sweet story. Mandin's illustrations are charming and original, with plenty of details within the eyeball-encrusted and sharp-toothed plant personalities to delight young readers. Fans of witches and monsters will be especially thrilled with the author's note, which shares that this was inspired by the true story of a British Duchess growing her own Poison Garden.
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2024 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
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Worthington, Becca. "Millie Fleur's Poison Garden." Booklist, vol. 120, no. 22, Aug. 2024, p. 67. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A808396849/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=26961b79. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Mandin, Christy MILLIE FLEUR SAVES THE NIGHT Orchard/Scholastic (Children's None) $18.99 7, 1 ISBN: 9781339023373
The protagonist ofMillie Fleur's Poison Garden(2024) once more teaches the townspeople a lesson in stepping out of their comfort zones.
The residents of Garden Glen fear the dark and keep their homes illuminated all night. All but Millie Fleur La Fae. She adores darkness and, since moving here, has missed the nocturnal creatures that avoid the lit-up town. "The Dark isn't scary," Millie Fleur assures the townspeople. "You just need to get to know her." Together, Millie Fleur and the Dark, a hulking being with glowing eyes standing by the forest's edge, lead the night creatures to her moon garden, where plants burst with delicious aromas that waft through town. Bearing lanterns, the enchanted young neighbors follow their noses to the garden, where Millie Fleur advises them to extinguish their lights. Plants with quirky names like Forty-winks Fern and Snoozing Sugarplum safely light their path. Initially timid, the kids soon discover that the Dark offers new and rewarding experiences. Thereafter, Garden Glen's lights dim, moon gardens flourish, night creatures settle in, and the town embraces darkness. This warm and pleasant bedtime tale will reassure kids frightened of the dark. Mandin makes a strong case that nighttime should be savored; her work will spark a sense of wonder about natural phenomena not evident during the day. The digital illustrations--set, unsurprisingly, against mostly blue backgrounds--are lovely, infused with a sweetly gothic sensibility. Millie and her mom are pale-skinned; the neighbors are racially diverse.
Nighttime comes alive here. (author's note about real-life night creatures)(Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
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"Mandin, Christy: MILLIE FLEUR SAVES THE NIGHT." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Apr. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A835106598/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=ce56673c. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.
Mandin, Christy BITTERSWEET McElderry (Children's None) $19.99 10, 28 ISBN: 9781665960588
Hungry children in postwar Berlin see candy float down from the sky in this re-creation of a historical incident.
Aside from a fictive point-of-view character, Mandin's account reflects historical records. In a divided country, in a divided city, pale-skinned young Hilda and other children wander through bombed-out streets, subsisting on scarce rations. When an American airman named Gail Halvorsen sees the reverence with which a group of youngsters shares two sticks of gum, he heads back to base, ties small bundles of chocolates and other sweets into parachutes made out of handkerchiefs, and adds them to the provisions being dropped by the Berlin Airlift--secretly at first, but then with official and volunteer support after reports of a clandestine "candy bomber" hit the papers. "Operation Little Vittles" went on to provide an amazing 23 tons of sweets--"key ingredients in the recipe for healing," writes Mandin in a lyrical close. If her tidy illustrations of fresh-faced, neatly turned-out young people living in broad streets strewn with clean-looking rubble veer on the treacly side, they do reflect the sweetness of both the episode and the altruistic impulse behind it. Scenes of service people and volunteers include some dark-skinned figures.
A satisfying salute to a little-known act of kindness. (author's note, bibliography)(Informational picture book. 6-8)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
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Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Mandin, Christy: BITTERSWEET." Kirkus Reviews, 15 July 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A847367759/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=4a672886. Accessed 8 Nov. 2025.