Mrs Noah's Garden — Jackie Morris

A new story about the lovable, independent-minded and resourceful Mrs Noah will be widely welcomed.

"Mrs Noah touched the earth. It was warm on her fingertips. She looked all round the Ark. On the south side the slope was less steep. A few shrubs and bushes had clung on, despite the flood. Two yew trees stood, ancient and tall.

Yes, thought Mrs Noah. Here."

Mrs Noah, ever-resourceful, ever-surprising, won a host of admirers with Mrs Noah's Pockets (2016). Now, with the Ark safely grounded, she gives herself a new task, to make a garden in the bare earth. The famously deep pockets hold flower and plant seeds, and with her children's help she prepares the ground, plants and waters, until on a magical midsummer's morning, the garden is there in full bloom. For Mr Noah, who has watched her sewing in the evenings and thought, 'Ah, curtains at last', there is a special surprise.

Mrs Noah's Pockets was one of the Guardian's Best Picture Books of 2017.