Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden — Andrew Larsen

As a garden takes root, so does a community. Vincent is staying with his aunt Mimi for the summer, and her drab city neighborhood doesn't seem too promising. But then he meets a boy named Toma, and things start looking up. When Mimi asks Vincent to get rid of her “dirt balls,” the boys have fun throwing them into a nearby empty lot. And then one day, they notice new shoots are sprouting all over the lot. Maybe those balls weren't just made of dirt after all! Sometimes friendships and flowers -- and neighborhoods -- can bloom from the same soil.