This is a lit log for The Vanderbeekers and the Hidden Garden by Karina Yan Glaser. (It is the second book in the Vanderbeeker series.) It is about a family who lives in a brownstone in Harlem who make a garden in an empty lot. The themes of the book are: community/caring neighbors, family, friendships, gardening, empty lots, making choices and accepting consequences. The main focus skills in the lit log are:* using text to determine meaning of words/phrases* using text to explain/d