Grow Your Own

By Esther Hall

Year: 2011

Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books, London

Age: 4 - 8 years

No. of Pages: 32

Book Type: Picture book

ISBN:  978 0 230 74794 4

This book about transition and its effect on the family is also a story of hope and optimism.

Sidney lives with his mum in the city. He eats food that comes out of boxes and his mum puts on grey clothes and works is a ‘big grey building.’

You, almost, know where this is heading...

Then, all the grays are banished by the vivid imagery of the countryside and the bright pop of home-grown vegetables and fruits. Thanks to Sidney’s grandmother whom he visits during his summer holidays. 

Sidney and his mum’s lives are turned around by this visit.

Excerpt

Sidney and his granny worked hard that summer, digging up vegetables and picking up fruit.

Every day Sidney tried something new to eat.

The Garden that We Grew (Puffin Young Readers: Level-2)

Text: Joan Holub, Wikipedia

Illustrations: Hiroe Nakata

Year: 2001

Publisher: Puffin Young Readers, New York

Age: 3 – 5 years

No. of Pages:  32

Book Type: Picture book, educational

ISBN: 978 0 44846 129 8

There’s nothing like some hands-on gardening experience for little ones to engage their energies and help them appreciate the beauty and wonder of the world around them.

The text is set out in verse form with plenty of rhyming words to make reading fun for new readers.

Excerpt

These are the buds that peek from their beds.

These are the flowers that poke out their heads.

These are the pumpkins that grow on the vine.

These are the summer days filled with sunshine.