Review By HOMA WOODRUM

If you’ve read Huyen’s glowing review of Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond, my take on a publisher’s review copy of the companion Jo MacDonald Had a Garden will come as no surprise. We really enjoyed this book! In fact, my three-year-old daughter was much more engaged in this than the previous book in the series.

Written by Mary Quattlebaum and illustrated with watercolors by Laura J. Bryant, the book follows the style of the children’s song “Old MacDonald Had a Farm” but tells the story of Jo MacDonald’s garden through the four seasons. The rhymes flow naturally and never feel forced as Jo gets her hands dirty preparing soil, planting seeds, caring for the garden, and enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of her and her friend’s labor. Extra details include the birds and insects in the garden going through their own cycles – birds laying eggs, etc. My favorite thing about the illustrations is how Jo and the little boy that is working alongside her seem to be dancing along with the song, like wiggling with worms or flapping their arms as if they were birds.

There is an implication that this is happening on or near Old MacDonald’s farm, such as an illustration featuring a bearded gentleman in overalls walking with a horse in the background but otherwise the only animals featured are those inhabiting the garden. In the comments of my review of All Kinds of Kisses, reader Sara MM mentioned that when she reads books with farm animals to her two year old daughter she explains “throughout the story how the animals live on a sanctuary and what that means (in easy to understand form of course),” which I thought was worth sharing.

The garden setting is a little more identifiable than the pond setting for my daughter as we live in the desert and have always had a garden for her to learn in. Speaking of learning in the garden, there are a few pages of information at the end of the book that make it a useful teaching tool. If you enjoyed Jo MacDonald Saw a Pond, you will love this book. If you are wondering whether you need two books following this theme I’ll say we enjoyed seeing what else Jo has been up to. A great reading selection to celebrate spring being just around the corner.

What are you planting this year? We had luck with carrots last year so those will certainly figure into our garden plans.  There’s nothing like sharing a small, fresh carrot four ways as a family.

Review By HOMA WOODRUM

Billie the Unicorn by Brianne Brouhard is a vividly illustrated story set in what we learn is a world where unicorns grow plants and flowers. Billie is a little blue unicorn who seems to continually long for different pastures. She tends a cornfield but ventures into the forest to learn from her cousins who show her their skills at growing sunflowers and strawberries. She wants to grow flowers like them but instead grows corn in the forest.  With encouragement, she grows a blue cornflower. Billie grows restless again upon hearing of a queen’s beautiful garden and ventures (without her cousins) off in search of it, hoping to learn more about growing flowers.

At this point the story takes a rather scary turn as the queen’s garden is tended by a miserable imprisoned unicorn who grows metal flowers at the queen’s command. Before Billie can escape, she is the new prisoner of the garden and is commanded to continue the old unicorn’s work. Her friends come to rescue her but first grow real flowers in the garden before making their escape.

I think that the idea of making any animal, even an imaginary one, a prisoner is a topic of interest to veg families. It is easy for a child to see how different the lives of the free unicorns and the imprisoned one differ. Both have the same powers but when forced to “perform” they are unhappy and fearful. The book’s message is “be yourself” and the illustrations are engaging though I do wonder where the previous unicorn in the queen’s garden ended up as Billie and her cousins live happily ever after.

Ages 5 and up.

Review By CAROLYN M. MULLIN

Capstone now has a new wonderful imprint, Heinemann-Raintree, that’s solely dedicated to publishing curriculum-driven nonfiction “that encourages inquiry and satisfies curiosity” for students in grades PreK-8. In their “Grow It Yourself!” series, children are challenged to cultivate something with a tangible result – catnip for a cat toy, tomatoes for a tomato and cheese (who says it can’t be Daiya, Follow Your Heart or even slices of Tofutti?) sandwich, pumpkins for soup, plants for a butterfly farm (why they didn’t title it a garden is beyond my comprehension!), and more.

Generally these titles are pretty veg-friendly with a few minor tweaks; e.g. – soy yogurt in place of the “natural yogurt” and agave vs. the honey called for in the Grow Your Own Smoothie text.

The text is of course age appropriate and the photography colorful and inviting. A glossary in each book ensures that young ones are expanding their vocabulary. All in all, these are a great find. I particularly enjoyed Grow Your Own Catnip Toy, but then again who couldn’t resist a book with cute kitties being silly? It made me want to plow my yard and get my hands dirty, just like the kids in the book. Good job, author John Malam, for showing kids they don’t need a so-called green thumb to just follow basic instructions and realize the fruits of their labor.

Ages 6-8.

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

If you are looking for a pleasing picture book about the ins and outs of composting, Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow: A Compost Story is a great choice.  This book is not long but it covers all of the basics of composting in an engaging way that makes the process seem very accessible and appealing to children.

The text is enhanced by bright photographs of scenes around compost bins and gardens as well as depictions of engrossed and happy children and adults working outdoors.  The end of the book features some information for adults who may be interested in learning more about implementing a composting system themselves!

Ages 3-7.

My daughter and I enjoyed reading about Mr. McGreely’s gardening enthusiasm and battle with the bunnies over his vegetables. G. Brian Karas (whom I recognized from My Crayons Talk and Baby Bug) creates cute little bunnies to accompany Candace Fleming’s cute bunny sounds as the moochers munch away on Mr. McGreely’s hard earned harvest. Kids like my four-year-old will find it fun to make the repetitive sounds the bunnies make as they sneak into the garden (“tippy-tippy-tippy, pat!”) and muncha! muncha! muncha!way.

McGreely’s expressions illustrate the clear emotional statements “he was angry,” “he was really angry,” and “he was really, really, angry” after discovering the vegetables demolished each day. The wonderful part of the story is that McGreely expresses his anger (modeling for children that it is ok to feel angry and frustrated), but he also uses the angry energy constructively (AR folks read: safe for bunnies) to build obstacles to keep the bunnies out of his garden. They don’t work on the devious bunnies but McGreely proves a pacifist who never harms the bunnies even when he’s at his angriest. (Somehow, we’re all rooting for the bunnies even though we might have related more to McGreery and his urge to garden at the beginning).The most aggressive he gets is when he resorts to benevolent name-calling (such as “flop-ears” and “puff-tails”) and building obstacles to block the bunnies from returning to his garden. Children, AR folks, bunny-lovers, and gardeners will enjoy this cotton tale.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JENNIFER GANNETT

After visiting Catskill Animal Sanctuary some time ago and meeting a rescued turkey named Ethel and her cohort, I became enamored with turkeys in a way that I hadn’t known was possible.  They are so cool!  So when I came upon the book Too Many Turkeys, I held my breath with each page I turned.  Could it be…a positive, fun story about these birds?  YES!

When a little domesticated poult wanders onto Fred and Belle’s small farm, Fred has a compassionate reaction to Belle’s suggestion that they run him off.  Fred names him Buford and builds him a house and yard.  Belle’s fears that Buford will ruin her garden turn out to be unfounded, and in fact, Buford’s manure causes Belle’s flowers, vegetables and berries to thrive.  Curious neighbors take note and ask Belle about her secret but she remains evasive.

Belle goes out of town, and immediately wild turkeys appear on the farm.  Initially, there are only a few, but more and more appear.  Fred attempts to relocate them, but they find their way back to the farm, and invite their friends.  The noise causes neighbors to investigate the ruckus and Fred decides that if the neighbors can help him somehow get the turkeys off of his property (thereby preventing them from ruining Belle’s gardens), he will reveal Belle’s secret.  They agree to help him, and he does indeed disclose: it’s turkey poop mixed with other compost.  He also points out that there are other benefits to having turkeys around, such as the fact that they eat insects.  The neighbors line up to take a turkey home and weeks later, the neighborhood looks prettier than ever. When Belle returns, she asks Fred if he has let anyone in on her secret.  He tells a white lie by omission, but she is too busy enjoying the improvements to the neighborhood to press him.

This is a worthwhile story of animals and humans living together harmoniously.  There is never any discussion of eating the birds. In fact, Fred and Belle show that turkeys can be valued for who they are, not as a food commodity (with benefits that accrue to gardeners, as well)– a very unusual viewpoint at this point in our society.  Fred is a great model of being open-minded and -hearted as well a creative problem solver.  At no point does he threaten violence toward the wild turkeys who invade his land (though he does take them on wild ride at one point).  The fabulous illustrations are a large part of what make this lively tale so fun.  One of my favorite pictures is of Fred and Buford, sharing the bed while Belle is away.

Too Many Turkeys is a great book for ages 5 and up.

Review By JESSICA ALMY

Liz Garton Scanlon and Marla Frazee teamed up to create All the World, a book so beautiful that it received the Caldecott Honor last year. (The Caldecott Medal went to The Lion and the Mouse by Jerry Pinkney.)

Capturing the magic of everyday moments , this book boasts several scenes that vegetarian and vegan families will enjoy. Among my favorite are the depiction of play along the shore (“A moat to dig, a shell to keep/ All the world is wide and deep”) and a bustling farmer’s market (“Tomato blossom, fruit so red/ All the world’s a garden bed”).  I also appreciate the diversity of families portrayed — or I should say family, as one of the delightful surprises is discovering that all of the characters are related (“Nanas, papas, cousins, kin/ Piano, harp and violin”).

There’s a serenity to both the words and illustrations that is reassuring and makes this an ideal bedtime book. Vegan parents, however, should be aware that the book portrays both honey production for human consumption and the use of butter in cooking.

Ages 3-7.

Review By HUYEN MACMICHAEL

This is such a beautiful and peaceful tale that it was a joy to read. I absolutely adore the soft and colorful watercolors, the well-rounded characters with such expressive faces and bodies, and the gentle humor infused throughout the story. My daughter was not immune to the magic of the story either since we read it multiple times and the images are so pleasing to the eye. It is no surprise that it is a Bccb Blue Ribbon Picture Book Awards book.

Elsie is a farmer with two companion cats Fluff and Gordo. Her specialty and passion is her cabbages which she had been growing and selling for years. One morning when she and her cats go to pick cabbages, they discover only stumps and “for a moment, she lost control.” The way Erika Oller paints Elsie’s reaction is funny yet compelling because we can all empathize with having lost something meaningful to us. But Elsie courageously puts herself back together because “she would not cry over shredded cabbages,” and comes up with a plan to find out what happened to her cabbages. She parks herself in the cold field to watch for the culprit but falls asleep before catching them. When she wakes, “she felt defeated” and  drags herself to bed. As she sleeps, Fluff and Gordo perform their secret good deeds and help figure out the mystery (there are hints in the illustrations throughout the story). When Elsie wakes, she decides to replant the cabbages and also make a batch of cabbage soup and is surprised to find all the soup ingredients sitting on her doorstep. When it’s time to eat, she has unexpected visitors and invites them to eat and stay with her. One of my favorite illustrations in this story is the image of “with bellies full, everyone fell fast asleep.” The visitors assist with the replanting and Elsie’s garden improves so that there are plenty of cabbages to go around.

I found it to be a very veg-friendly tale with Fluff and Gordo as well as Elsie demonstrating such compassion and generosity that it warms the reader. I even enjoyed Oller’s dedication to her daughter, “who has taught me how to eat my vegetables.” The only criticism of the book is that Elsie serves her cats warm milk, which in reality is not good for cats (vegetarian parents should note there is mention that the cats decide to eat fish instead of cabbage soup).

I highly recommend this heart-warming story where the culprits are not captured and punished yet they do make reparation and the main character Elsie demonstrates her strength in taking a negative event and moving beyond it to make bigger cabbages and a better life, as well as new friends.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JESSICA ALMY

Ready for a quirky, silly, veggie read? Then dig your fangs, I mean teeth, into J.otto Seibold and Siobhan Vivian’s picture book Vunce Upon a Time, starring a gentle soul named Dagmar who just so happens to be a vegetarian and a vampire.

When we borrowed this Halloween-themed book from the library, my daughter cracked up at the images of Dagmar eating carrots and tending his garden, but was quick to inform me that the book is not really about being a vegetarian — it’s about friendship. Fair enough, but the entire reason that Dagmar develops a friendship with a little girl is because a) he doesn’t hunt like other vampires, b) he grows vegetables more slowly than he eats them, and c) he supplements his diet with a secret candy stash that’s running low.

Veg parents might not appreciate Dagmar’s focus on junk food, and veg kids might be quick to point out that real gummy worms are made with gelatin (which is not vegetarian). Still, most vegetarians will enjoy this humorous book.

Ages 4-8.

Review By JACQUELINE BODNAR

While many of us know that composting is an environmentally friendly thing to do, most of us are yet to do it. Many more don’t even know what goes into composting. In Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth, Mary McKenna Siddals gives the reader a crash course, ABC style in what goes into making compost.

With great illustrations and easy-to-read pages, this book offers a good look at composting and is easy for children to understand. It is also a helpful tool for parents who may wonder what all goes into composting.

There are some interesting things that are added to compost that some people may not have thought about before, such as hair snippings and laundry lint.

There is one reference to adding in eggshells that vegetarian and vegan parents may want to know about. Also, it says to add an “insect or two” which left me wondering and hoping they weren’t promoting the killing of insects.

Ages 4-8.