Other, School garden
Kids' Gardening Books Reviewed
Herbert Peabody and the Incredible Beehive by Bianca C. Ross, illustrated by Tabitha Emma Bray
What a breath of fresh air! A kid’s book that highlights the benefits of bees to gardens and the environment!
In an era when bee populations around the world are declining, this entertaining book helps children to understand the relationship between bees, flowers and the environment. I was particularly impressed with the emphasis on problem solving and community participation. My kids loved the story, illustrations and learned a bit along the way about the benefit of bees in our ecosystems.
Written by Bianca Ross, a Melbourne author and a small time farmer, this engaging tale takes us on a journey with farmer Herbert Peabody and his human and insect friends, Bee, Worm and Ladybug. Herbert and his friends set out on a quest to find more flowers and hence more pollen for Bee’s hive.
The illustrations by Tabitha Emma Bray are delightful and complement the storyline beautiully.
There is mystery – who is behind The Voice That Belongs to Nobody and intrigue – What has happened to the once beautiful gardens at Huffelton mansion.
Overall, a thoroughly engaging story with a delightful message about the benefits of bees, gardens and flowers. For more information or to purchase this book visit Herbert Peabody.
Garden to Table – A Kid’s Guide to Planting, Growing and Preparing Food by Katherine Hengel
Garden to Table provides lots of images and explanations of cooking and growing terms. It sets out in pictures how to plant seeds, when to plant them and how to care for them. Children are shown when and how to harvest carrots, beans, lettuce, potatoes and tomatoes. It explains the plants stages of growth in pictures with accompanying text. My kids found it fascinating to read about the infancy of a plant.
Garden to Table includes 30 recipes, and I am a little embarrassed to admit, but in the kitchen I am a bit of a failure; to the point where my family groans when I try a new recipe! But the easy to follow instructions and accompanying pictures made cooking these recipes a breeze!
For our Father’s Day family lunch, the kids and I prepared Big-Time Basil Parmesan Dip and Tempting Twice Baked Potatoes. And both dishes were delicious! The recipes include lots of pictures and my primary school kids only needed a little help along the way.
Having been written by an American author, I was a little concerned that this book wouldn’t cater for an Australian audience. Now, I can declare my concerns unfounded! Sure, there a couple of terms that may need “translation” but other than that this book is universal.
Overall, this is a fabulous, well written book, perfect for helping children to grow and cook their own food. Garden to Table is available online at Mighty Media Press for shipping to USA and Canada. Garden to Table is not currently available in Australia, if you think it should be, please let us know.
Happy reading, gardening and cooking
Erica
