Future Lab: Tomorrow's Farm: Show kids how innovation is changing our world...fast

by duopress labs, duopress labs

The day starts early on the future farm, where smart tractors plow the land and robots plant the seeds. Our farmer gets ready to explore her land with a drone, while cows are happily pasturing in the fields. This is not Old MacDonald's farm. This is a farm of the near future, where vegetables will grow in vertical structures and fruit is carefully picked by robotic arms! And at the end of the book, it all comes together at home, where a family enjoys juicy strawberries from their smart refrigerator. Kids will be delighted with this new take on the good-old farm and will learn how farmers and animals interact with high-tech gadgets. The last spread of the book contains a simple glossary where tots and parents can read the definitions of some more advanced terms.

Genres: Picture Books

20 pages, Board book

Published August 1, 2023

Reviews

[Jasmine from How Useful It Is · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book for my toddler's bedtime. A great book to teach kids new vocabularies. The vocabularies in this book are drone, vertical garden, robot arms, rooftop gardens, solar panel, etc. It introduces kids to another way of living, where it's environmentally friendly and more digital. A futuristic book

Thank you Sourcebooks Kids for the opportunity to read and review.

[pineapple tofu · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quick picture book read on tomorrow's version of farming. Youngsters will enjoy futuristic equipment such as drones and vertical farming. Follow young farmers as they check their data on tablets on cows, veggies, and other sorts of things on a farm. This picture book is whimsical as it prepares for the future.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “Future Lab: Tomorrow’s Farm” young children learn about the farms of tomorrow. Suffice it to say that Old Macdonald now has cows, chickens, pigs, drones, and robotic tractors. The colorful illustrations are perfect for young kids and a glossary at the back of the book is great for adults or older children.

The board book explores the variety of tools that farmers already or will soon use. As someone who lives in a rural area with many farms, I am intrigued by the idea of using drones to target spray fertilizer, insecticide, or fungicide onto specific areas of a field. I am not sure that robots will soon replace humans to pick delicate crops, but battery powered tractors are already here.

Overall, this is a fun book to introduce young children to farms and farming techniques.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by NetGalley and the publisher, duopress. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Grace-Marie Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this book is potentially in the wrong audience market as a board book. The concepts explored in this book leans much closer to 1st or 2nd grade level, especially in terms of interest. I cannot see children between the ages of 3 Months to 4 Years engaging with the concepts so briefly explored in the book and at such high levels in comparison to average comprehension. I could see a book based only on how drones help farming or how hydroponic gardens work but not with so many concepts for such a young age range. I certainly would not recommend this for the audience marketed but I could see K-3 using it in science lessons in which educators can go more in depth on the contents.

I received a free ebook edition from Netgalley and am never paid for my opinions.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Future Lab: Tomorrow’s Farm is a board book the tells kids about how farming will be done in the future, with drones and in labs. Overall, I enjoyed the illustrations in this book but found no real storyline that held interest. I feel like this is geared towards older kids who might be interested in this info, but since it’s a board book it is meant for a younger audience. It didn’t hold my three year old attention besides when he asked about the smart tractors that are referenced in the book. I like the idea behind this book, but I’m not sure it’s for my kids.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early copy of this book to review!

[Althea Mason · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm still not sure if this book was aiming to have a story with it or be more of a children's informational book. If it was going for a story then it failed. There were about two pages that felt story like and they felt very out of place compared to the rest of the pages.

Each page has at least one item in the illustration that has a word bubble with it identifying it. A "tablet" was identified multiple times which felt unnecessary when other items could have been pointed out.

There are random facts during the "story" if you can call it that. At the end there is a "recap" that tells you what certain words mean and how to pronounce them.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting take on a farm book. I love the integration of technology into the farm work. I just don't really know what age this book is really for. The subject is a bit too advanced for toddlers, but the wording is a bit too simple for older kids. I wish it had gone into a bit more depth on each idea. For example, with indoor gardening it would've been really cool to have specific examples of how they are already being implemented. For example, hydroponic gardening has been implemented in many cities that don't have outdoor spaces for the traditional garden/farm.

[Tracie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a board book that details what farming could look like in the future. It talks about using drones, battery powered tractors and robots to farm and growing plants using hydroponics. I don't think a small child would enjoy this book but there are some great illustrations throughout. Thank you to Netgalley, the author and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book in exchange for an honest review.

[loujarz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives insight into how farming and agriculture has adapted with technology in today's industry. It demonstrates different ways technology may be used to help in the agricultural process in some farms.

[Katie Rhode · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little board book that details what farming could look like in the future. The graphics were well done, but the language was a bit complicated for a baby/kid that would be read a board book

[Tina Loves To Read · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a Children's book that I read to my kids. I just found this book to be a let down, and it is so simple. There was not much to this book at all. I just wanted more from this book. The book did not pull my kids into it either. I love the idea of farming being done differently. I received an ARC of this book. This review is my own honest opinion about the book like all my reviews are.