One of the pleasures of being a grandmother is introducing and sharing things and activities you love to grandchildren. Jan Gerardi’s book, The Little Gardener’, is a board book aimed at two to four year olds that can be used to spark an interest in gardening as well as in reading. It present some of the basic concepts of gardening in a simple way with a rhyming text and bright colored pictures.
The first pages show tools; a shovel and rake with flaps covering a pail and hoe. Right on the opening page the book in interactive, something that immediately engages a very young child. Subsequent pages show seeds in a row, followed by compost, water, and rain, ending with sprouted seeds. Another set of pages shows flowers blooming, weeding, and eliminating slugs. A final set of pages shows the harvest and saving seeds for next year. Numerous flaps cover various images throughout the book and open in different directions to making the book more interesting. The book encourages organic gardening and is printed on 80% recycled paper with soy ink and water based varnish, very nice touches.
Karen Meyers