The Chalk Garden

About Sally Anne Garland

Sally Anne Garland grew up in the Highlands of Scotland. According to her parents, her first really good drawing, at the age of four, was a large mural in crayon on the sitting-room wall.

A graduate from Edinburgh College of Art, Sally Anne has illustrated over 60 picture books. She has also authored many of her own stories that have received critical acclaim from The Guardian and starred reviews from Kirkus.

She is now settled in Glasgow with her family and enjoys finding and telling stories from the everyday that inspire creativity and curiosity in children.

Stuck Inside was inspired by her interest in the small world children inhabit, the way the simplest things can be so new and exciting, and how the best fun often begins when children are at their most bored. When she's not drawing or writing stories, she has fun reading books or watching movies INSIDE, and going on walks OUTSIDE.

Thoughts from Sally about her  book, The Chalk Garden;

Stuck Inside is inspired by your holidays with her grandparents.  How important is the urban setting for your latest book, The Chalk Garden?  It’s lovely the way the garden is slowly revealed!

I live in a city so I suppose it was only natural for me to set the story in an urban setting. It fascinates me how quickly nature can invade and take over even the most man-made of environments. Weeds that can push through tiny cracks in pavements or sapling trees that miraculously grow on top of tall buildings  - it amazes me how determined nature is to reclaim what was once it’s and I thought a yard that is completely concreted over and seemingly lifeless was a good start for a story.

There’s lots of research to show that gardening is good for mental health – as well as good for the environment....

Yes, I think during lockdown a lot of people discovered this and actively sought out natural spaces and gardens to feel relax. Both drawing and gardening are mindful activities and good for mental health.

Do you have a garden? And time to spend in it?    

I live in a tenement flat so I don’t have a garden however I have access to a lovely, large communal garden which I share with my neighbours. I am often in it with a mug of tea (particularly in the summer) and also when my son was very young we used it a lot

It’s good to see a Dad with his child – why did you decide on a father as the person to help Emma transform the chalk garden?

I wanted to show Emma learning through her own observation and drawing. Her garden is wild, growing naturally without interference, her Dad is busy cultivating their garden in the background but his activity only mirrors what Nature is doing in Emma’s small patch of earth. Although there is a parental presence, the book is essentially about what Emma discovers for herself by simply observing and instinctively following Nature rather than being instructed or shown by a parent. 

Emma is the only child in the book.  She creates the garden herself. She doesn’t have friends with her. Is this significant?

That’s a good question. To be honest I wasn’t conscious of doing so, I think maybe because childhood can have such big moments of solitary exploration and self-discovery, I may of unconsciously reflected this. Kids are noisy but also occasionally have a great capacity to be quietly absorbed in the self-study of something. 

There is very little dialogue in the book – is this significant?  Action speaking louder than words? 

I suppose this book is about looking and learning through drawing - an act that requires little or no discussion. Talking and sharing information is extremely important but so too is silent observation and one of the best ways to do this is by drawing - even if it is with chalks in a garden.

Emma longs for the birds to come but has to be patient - How important is it for children to understand that things don’t happen immediately?

I think it is important, particularly in a era of digital communication and instant information . Nature is perhaps the best teacher of patience and also learning how to slow down and self-regulate in a very stimulating world which is a key skill now.