The Princess In The Kitchen Garden

Written and illustrated by Annemie and Margriet Heymans (Farrar, Straus and Giroux) 

Ages 10+

This beautifully written and illustrated book is about a young girl’s grief when her mother dies and she is left to take care of her little brother while her busy father escapes to his study – leaving all three of them lost in their sadness.

Feeling unappreciated for all the hard work she is left with, and battling her own grief, Hannah runs away to Mama’s old kitchen garden, at the bottom of the garden.  In the allegorical tale that follows, the children find their way through their grief.

Lyrical grief

The words are lyrical and filled with longing:

“Where is the grass I played on?

Sometimes Mama spread out a blanket, and we would

sit on it together… I can still remember

Matthew lying nearby in his baby carriage.

Now a bush grows there!

I wish I still had a mother!

But she hasn’t gone away.

If I listen carefully,

I can still hear her

in the rustling wind,

in the whispering grass.

She sings in the trees.

that’s what all people do

who were loved 

when they lived.”

Dual stories

Hannah leaves her brother Mathew a note to say he must get a few things from the ‘forbidden room’ – Mama’s room – and leave them in the ditch in the garden for her.  When he enters the room, he hears his mama’s voice and she sounds overjoyed to see him.  But he is intent on his task, trying to listen to his sister’s orders. He is also wrapped up in the book his sister gave him to read, a fairy tale about a princess called Rosa.  Despite himself, he gets immersed in the story, and when he sees a figure on the garden wall at night, he thinks it is Rosa, not realising it is in fact Hannah. These dream-like sightings of Hannah, whom he believes to be Rosa come to life, fuel the fantastical element of the story.

Mixed emotions of grief

Hannah also hears her Mama’s loving voice in her garden, and she is comforted, but also experiences all the anger that can come with grief.  She focuses on her need to make a little home for herself in the garden, while trying to ignore her feelings of responsibility to Matthew and Papa.

The story follows a parallel tale of Hannah and Matthew contrasted with beautiful illustrations in a mix of little pencil sketches, full colour page bleeds, and bordered and cut out illustrations that accompany the text. We also hear the story through the Mama’s voice and when a severe windstorm hits the house, Papa realises the children are gone and is relieved when the windstorm blows him over the garden fence into Hannah’s/Mama’s  garden. He finally sees her and Matthew and they are united in their love for each other. 

There are so many more details to this deeply touching story – too many to tell – and while it is uncoventional, it is an immensly comforting book, perfect for readers age 10+

It is hard to find a copy of this book – you can try your local booksellers, or find it on ETSY HERE.

Meet the authors

Margriet Heymans (born October 29, 1932 – died July 27, 2023) was a talented and award-winning Dutch writer and illustrator. She created many wonderful books for children. Margriet often worked with her sister, Annemie Heymans.