you grow kid
Filed Under Events, Going Green, Stuff | August 24, 2010
It is that time of year where, if your green thumb efforts survived the rainy spring, you’re harvesting a thing or two from your own garden or at least enjoying the bounty at your local farmers markets. Which is why the release of Up We Grow – A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm is so timely.
Written by Deborah Hodge with stunning photos by Brian Harris, this heartfelt collaboration is a celebration of good food and the land and farmers who provide it. Children are taken through the seasons on a small sustainable cooperative farm from plowing and planting to harvest and then to market. In fact our four year old was delighted to spot photos of ‘his’ farmer’s market where we’re heading this Saturday to see if he can id any of the ‘real farmers’ in the book. In a very gentle way children are introduced to the importance of caring for our farmland and good stuff like bee pollination, compost, cover crops and crop rotation.
Toothsome nuggets such as ‘chickens lay fewer eggs come fall’ and ‘a jar of honey will taste like the flowers the bees visited’ intrigued our four year old. And four to six year olds (and book appreciating three-year-olds) will find lots to love. The ‘for real’ kids and animals that appear on most pages will catch their attention and Hodge’s curriculum development background is evident in the skill with which she draws young listeners in with questions such as ‘What type of seed would you plant?’ and ‘What’s your favourite summer food?’
We’re looking forward to the sequel Watch Me Grow – A Down-to-Earth Look at Growing Food in the City due in Spring 2011 because our garden could use a little help and we’re not too proud to take advice from our kids!
Intrigued? Why not take in the Up We Grow launch event at Kidsbooks on West Broadway on August 26th at 7 pm. You can also find more about it through FarmFolk/CityFolk.
Lovers of Stanley the dog take note; the Kidsbooks event is a double bill also celebrating the release of local author Linda Bailey’s latest Stanley adventure.
Up We Grow – A Year in the Life of a Small, Local Farm: www.farmfolkcityfolk.ca
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