Karen GoatKeeper's Blog - Posts Tagged "gardening"
"Arbor Day Square", "Planting the Wild Garden" and "Pirate Stew"
Gardening and a wild pirate tale made for a fun weekend.
Pirate Stew
5 stars
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Two girls will have an unusual babysitter for the evening while their parents go out. The babysitter is a pirate cook who promptly invites the pirate crew in for bowls of pirate stew. Eat some at your own risk!
The text is fun. The illustrations are wild as the pirate crew is a motley group in age, gender, dress and more. Are they a real pirate crew? Are you sure?
Arbor Day Square
4 stars
Author: Kathryn Galbraith
Illustrator: Cyd Moore
Arbor Day is a day to plant trees. Why? Where did this tradition begin? Why? This is the story of the beginnings of Arbor Day.
The illustrations are simple, but very effective for this tale of decades ago.
Planting the Wild Garden
4 stars
Author: Kathryn Galbraith
Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
Gardeners plant regular gardens. Who plants the wild plants? Someone must as the wild plants grow. This book tells of some of the answers.
The illustrations have a soft look to them. They have main illustrations with other, small images to help make the main theme of the page plainer. All the plants and animals are easily identified.
Pirate Stew
5 stars
Author: Neil Gaiman
Illustrator: Chris Riddell
Two girls will have an unusual babysitter for the evening while their parents go out. The babysitter is a pirate cook who promptly invites the pirate crew in for bowls of pirate stew. Eat some at your own risk!
The text is fun. The illustrations are wild as the pirate crew is a motley group in age, gender, dress and more. Are they a real pirate crew? Are you sure?
Arbor Day Square
4 stars
Author: Kathryn Galbraith
Illustrator: Cyd Moore
Arbor Day is a day to plant trees. Why? Where did this tradition begin? Why? This is the story of the beginnings of Arbor Day.
The illustrations are simple, but very effective for this tale of decades ago.
Planting the Wild Garden
4 stars
Author: Kathryn Galbraith
Illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
Gardeners plant regular gardens. Who plants the wild plants? Someone must as the wild plants grow. This book tells of some of the answers.
The illustrations have a soft look to them. They have main illustrations with other, small images to help make the main theme of the page plainer. All the plants and animals are easily identified.
"One Bean", "The Life Cycle of a Sunflower" and "A Dandelion's Life"
Spring brings gardening and these books lead into that.
One Bean
5 stars
Author: Anne Rockwell
Illustrator: Megan Halsey
This is the story of a science or gardening project. The two children plant a bean and watch it grow. The text is easily followed for readers to do the same.
The illustrations look like paper dolls. They look simple, but are very appropriate for the book.
The Life Cycle of a Sunflower
4 stars
Author: Philip Parker
Illustrator: Jackie Harland
The story of the sunflower is well done. Each page has a good explanation about what is happening to the sunflower or its seed at that time. The difficulty is with the experiment at the end. A sunflower will not grow well in a flower pot, at least not the kind the story is about.
The illustrations are well done. They show many of the traits of a sunflower and the bugs that visit the flower heads.
A Dandelion's Life
5 stars
Author/Illustrator: John Himmelman
Dandelions are considered weeds. In truth, they were deliberately brought here from Europe as a food plant. The plants make an interesting study.
The text is short and geared for younger readers although it does introduce several creatures and concepts probably new to them. The plant in the text is unusual as it has only one flower head.
The illustrations are up close, an ant's eye view of the plant as it grows, flowers and send off seeds. The many creatures shown are not identified, but could be used to encourage a child to find out more.
One Bean
5 stars
Author: Anne Rockwell
Illustrator: Megan Halsey
This is the story of a science or gardening project. The two children plant a bean and watch it grow. The text is easily followed for readers to do the same.
The illustrations look like paper dolls. They look simple, but are very appropriate for the book.
The Life Cycle of a Sunflower
4 stars
Author: Philip Parker
Illustrator: Jackie Harland
The story of the sunflower is well done. Each page has a good explanation about what is happening to the sunflower or its seed at that time. The difficulty is with the experiment at the end. A sunflower will not grow well in a flower pot, at least not the kind the story is about.
The illustrations are well done. They show many of the traits of a sunflower and the bugs that visit the flower heads.
A Dandelion's Life
5 stars
Author/Illustrator: John Himmelman
Dandelions are considered weeds. In truth, they were deliberately brought here from Europe as a food plant. The plants make an interesting study.
The text is short and geared for younger readers although it does introduce several creatures and concepts probably new to them. The plant in the text is unusual as it has only one flower head.
The illustrations are up close, an ant's eye view of the plant as it grows, flowers and send off seeds. The many creatures shown are not identified, but could be used to encourage a child to find out more.
