Green Bean! Green Bean!:

by Patricia Thomas

Plant it -- water it -- weed it -- protect it -- and under the blossoms is the perfect shady nook to read a book! Pretty soon it's time to pick all those long, lean beans, and to harvest a full season of garden knowledge and experience.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature

32 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2016

About the author

Patricia Thomas was the author of several picture books, including Firefly Mountain; “Stand Back,” Said the Elephant, “I’m Going to Sneeze!”; “There are Rocks in My Socks,” Said the Ox to the Fox; and The One-and-Only, Super-Duper, Golly-Whopper, Jim-Dandy, Really Handy Clock Tock Stopper. She taught writing for children at Marywood University and at the Institute for Children’s Literature. Thomas passed away in 2021.

Reviews

[Cheryl A. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brief text that would be fun to read aloud. Bright cheerful pictures that clearly show what the garden looks like. Lots of supplementary text for older children. Wonderful for home-schoolers, or anyone who know that vegetable gardens are a Good Thing.

[Cat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a big fan of the text - the repetition feels clunky instead of rhythmic - but I do like the bright illustrations, if only because they feature a Springer Spaniel, the cutest of all dogs.

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Vibrant, realistic illustrations depict a girl's experience growing green beans in her garden. Both the fun and the challenges of gardening are explored. I appreciated that humane exclusion techniques were used to keep a rabbit from raiding the growing plants.

The text is a little clunky but it's doubtful the intended audience will be offended. A section at the book's conclusion explains the plant lifecycle and suggests some home science projects involving green beans.

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

This exuberant celebration of green beans and how they grow, from seeds to plants and back again allows young readers to explore their life cycle. The colorful illustrations make the work of gardening look like great fun, even while showing some of its challenges, including weather as well as pests and animals that are looking for their own fresh veggies on which to munch. Back matter includes information on the life cycle of plants and vocabulary study. There are great vocabulary words sprinkled within the story. Teachers might consider using this title with its useful back matter as part of their elementary classroom science library and to provide an introduction to the topic.

[Kim Briggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A few seeds. Some sunshine. A little water. And magic. Green Bean! Green Bean! by Patricia Thomas explores the life cycle of a bean seed through the eyes of a little girl and her dog. The girl discovers the joy of gardening, the deliciousness of the harvest, and best of all, a nook to read her own books! Fun activities included in the back of the book for those who want to grow their own book nook, along with a host of other helpful hints about the life cycle of seeds, words to know, and tips to grow your own seeds!