Kids all over the world help collect seeds, weed gardens, milk goats and herd ducks.
From a balcony garden with pots of lettuce to a farm with hundreds of cows, kids can pitch in to bring the best and freshest products to their families' tables—and to market. Loaded with accessible information about the many facets of farming, Down to Earth takes a close look at everything from what an egg carton tells you to why genetic diversity matters—even to kids.
July 1, 2013
Gr 3-6-These books feature accessible texts, appealing layouts, and global perspectives. Beginning with the difficult-to-ride high-wheelers and boneshakers of yore, Pedal It! launches with a lively history of bicycles. Other chapters discuss how these vehicles work, their various functions (from leisure-time activity to courier or taxi services), and how they are being used today in various countries (to haul goods, help street kids make a living, as ambulances, and even to generate power). Throughout, the author emphasizes that this means of transportation affords health benefits, protects the environment, and empowers people around the world to improve their lives. Down to Earth investigates how youngsters help to produce, prepare, and distribute food. A chapter on "Seeds and Plants" stresses the importance of genetic diversity, highlights types of produce (including worldwide staples such as rice and cassava), and discusses the extra costs-and benefits-associated with organic farming. Three more sections cover poultry raising, other barnyard critters (goats, pigs, cattle, etc.), and working animals (from plow-pulling oxen in China to fertilizer-producing worms). Both engagingly written titles are filled with fun facts and well-captioned photos that provide alluring glimpses into different cultures and locales. Two inviting choices for informing and inspiring curious readers and world citizens.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
March 1, 2017
A global survey of small-scale food production, with kids pitching in with the everyday chores.Complemented by a large and varied array of photographs--great panoramic landscape shots, intimate foodstuff portraits, plus a generous array of genders, races, nationalities, and ages--Tate's survey takes readers on a world tour of farming, particularly, though not exclusively, that undertaken by kids: "we'll explore some of the many ways children help collect seeds, weed gardens, milk goats, herd ducks and more as they grow, harvest, prepare, and distribute food." The writing is good-spirited, not preachy or condescending, so the swallowing of information does not feel like gagging. And there is enough practical material that nonfarm kids will be able to find fascinating: how come organic food costs more? How do you decipher a food label at the most elementary level? What is a seed bank? What is the importance of diversity and rare breeds? What is waste, and how did animals in the preindustrial days provide for us so much more than they do now ? Take the pig: skin made gloves and footballs, bones made buttons, bristles made hairbrushes, teeth were made into jewelry, fat and lard were made into soap, and all the pig got eaten, tail to snout. Informative, varied, entertaining, eye-catching--there's not much more you could ask of this unaffected piece of work. (Nonfiction. 8-12)
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January 1, 2014
With chapter titles such as "Seeds and Plants," "Feathered Friends," and "Multi-Purpose Animals," this book adeptly explains different types of farming around the world. While a section discussing the 4-H program is included, it is mostly the well-chosen color photos, showing children from a variety of cultures harvesting crops or tending animals, that justify the subtitle. Reading list, websites. Ind
(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)