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| Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth |
An A to Z Recipe For the Earth
Written by Mary McKenna Siddals
Illustrated by Ashley Wolff
Tricycle Press, 2010
Grade K-2
Themes:
Gardening, Environment, How-to
Opening:
Synopsis:
Compost Stew is part alphabet book, part science how to. Told in rhyme, the text goes from A to Z, adding suggestions of unlikely items you can actually add to your compost heap. Apple cores, bananas, and coffee grounds, of course, but also quarry dust and laundry lint. The book includes links to composting instructions and community garden tips. Perfect to get kids involved in community service, environmentalism, and outdoor activity.
What I Love:
The author has set herself quite a challenge, to inform and instruct in rhyme. Even the disclaimer and end note are in rhyme. The finished product is charming and fun to read aloud. I was excited to learn a few unusual ingredients which will benefit my garden. And who can resist Ashley Wolff's paint and collage illustrations? She creates a colorful cast of characters from magazines, fabric, and newsprint, kids of all kinds in polka dots and floral hats. These illustrations are perfect for the recycling theme, from the endpapers to the endnotes and everything in between.
Bonus:
1. Download a PDF for starting a community compost. Check out these articles on composting with kids from Gardening KnowHow or Green Mom Guide.
2. Build your own rotating compost barrel: Bucket-sized from Urban Farm Online or one that's barrel-sized from OneHundredDollarsAMonth.
3. Get a head start on next years garden. Redwood City Seed Company offers free seeds to kids with an adult order.
4. Learn more about the science of earth worms from National Geographic Kids, then build a worm farm with PlanetKidz.
5. Mary Siddals has included a bucketful of links and lesson plans which are a perfect compliment to the book.
6. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.
Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for November 13, 2015 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.
Grade K-2
Themes:
Gardening, Environment, How-to
Opening:
Environmental chefs
here's a recipe for you
to fix from scratch
to mix a batch
of compost stew.
Synopsis:
Compost Stew is part alphabet book, part science how to. Told in rhyme, the text goes from A to Z, adding suggestions of unlikely items you can actually add to your compost heap. Apple cores, bananas, and coffee grounds, of course, but also quarry dust and laundry lint. The book includes links to composting instructions and community garden tips. Perfect to get kids involved in community service, environmentalism, and outdoor activity.
What I Love:
The author has set herself quite a challenge, to inform and instruct in rhyme. Even the disclaimer and end note are in rhyme. The finished product is charming and fun to read aloud. I was excited to learn a few unusual ingredients which will benefit my garden. And who can resist Ashley Wolff's paint and collage illustrations? She creates a colorful cast of characters from magazines, fabric, and newsprint, kids of all kinds in polka dots and floral hats. These illustrations are perfect for the recycling theme, from the endpapers to the endnotes and everything in between.
Bonus:
 |
| DIY compost tumbler by Ian and Kristina Urquhart |
2. Build your own rotating compost barrel: Bucket-sized from Urban Farm Online or one that's barrel-sized from OneHundredDollarsAMonth.
3. Get a head start on next years garden. Redwood City Seed Company offers free seeds to kids with an adult order.
4. Learn more about the science of earth worms from National Geographic Kids, then build a worm farm with PlanetKidz.
5. Mary Siddals has included a bucketful of links and lesson plans which are a perfect compliment to the book.
6. Check out these and more Perfect Picture Books at your local library.
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| Reviewed by Sue |
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| Reviewed by Stacy |
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| Reviewed by Joanne |
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| Reviewed by Kirsten |
Have you reviewed a Perfect Picture Book along this theme? Please leave the link in the comments below. Thanks!
Check out all the recommended titles for Perfect Picture Book Friday
for November 13, 2015 available on Susanna Leonard Hill's blog.
