Peggy ThomasBesprekingen

Out-of-doors season has arrived and one of the joys of the warm weather days is planting a garden - vegetables, fruits, or flowers. And they all require soil. And they all require digging.

It's what is in the soil plus sun and rain that makes the garden and all it's loveliness grow. In the delightfully entertaining and educational book, The Soil in Jackie's Garden, young Jackie learns all about how she can enrich the soil and what it takes to get the soil to be productive - including critters that wiggle and squirm down deep in the dark moist dirt.

This charming book displays vertically (a bit different from regular printings) and that just seems to help visualize how it takes going deep down for soil to be enriched and effective. Young readers will be enticed to get a shovel, make a compost pile, dig a garden, find an earth worm, and be in absolute awe when they see their seeds sprout and seedlings grow to fruition.

Feeding Minds Press accurately presents factual knowledge in a format that children can understand. Children learn that there is more than a visit to the grocery store to putting a meal on the table. It takes soil. It takes digging. It takes attention to our environment.

I highly recommend this book for families and libraries.

I received a complimentary copy to facilitate a review. Opinions are mine, alone and are freely given.

Great story, about a side of Lincoln that is little remembered.

The art work in this book is great, and unusual for a children’s book. But that is the best part. This is a basic history of Abe Lincoln. The subtitle is “Abraham Lincoln’s Agricultural Legacy” but much of this is not about agriculture. Plus the author has added in these action works like “Twack”, “swish”, “thwump” that seem very out of place. This reader who lives in the “Land of Lincoln” would not add this book to their collection.

It's a commonly known fact that Henry Ford invented the Model T, an affordable automobile that made transportation by car more readily available. However, it's probably less well known that Ford was interested in sustainability and farming in addition to his tinkering with machinery. And he was obsessed with one thing in particular -- soybeans. So much so that his favorite snack was a soybean biscuit, his suits were made of soy thread, and the dinner he served in the Ford Exhibit at the World's Fair in Chicago contained soy in every item presented, including beverages and desserts. TIME Magazine even declared him "a bean's best friend" in 1936.

This picture book biography focuses on Ford's efforts to build a soybean car rather than the more known parts of his history. I know absolutely nothing about this facet of Ford and was therefore enthralled by this book. The text is simple and straightforward but completely informative. Occasional direct quotes from Ford are peppered throughout the story. The illustrations are bright and lively; for some reason, the pages are infused with a jaunty yellow, which I loved since yellow is one of my favorite colors. Extensive back matter includes a timeline, recipes, black-and-white archival photographs, a bibliography, etc.

I thought this book was packed with information. It almost had too much information. That’s why I put it at an older reading grade level. But I did learn a lot about Thomas Jefferson I didn’t know before. He worked very hard throughout his entire life to expand our country and its economic development. He wanted us to be a nation of farmers. He went to Europe to debate with men over the greatness of America. He sent a French writer the carcass of a moose to prove to him how big they were. Thomas Jefferson was more than just our 3rd president and this book helps to show that to young people.

Roger Tory Peterson is a naturalist who observes the diversity of nature such as plants and animals. He creates his own world by keeping all the creatures in his pocket, head, and cap. He is also able to have certain abilities because of the creatures with him, such as having a skunk’s sense of smell. Roger is able to take care of the moth cycle at his home too. The writer Peggy Thomas narrates how Roger spends his life by freeing birds in the sky. This picture book signifies how Roger succeeds his life through the diversity of natural animals in nature.

I really wanted to like this book. There are elements that are great. Peggy Thomas tells the story of Buffon claiming that European animals are better than American and talks about Jefferson's resilience in not giving up. The prose is full of alliteration that is a delight to read out loud. However, there is a gaping hole in this story that needs to be addressed. This book was published in 2015. In 2015, we should not be glossing over the fact that Thomas Jefferson owned slaves. The text talks about Jefferson being a farmer and illustrations show him plowing the field. Not once in the story does it mention that slaves worked his field. It talks about builders working on Monticello. No mention of slaves. The book speaks critically of the West Indies because they have slaves and how Jefferson could instead have sugar through maple trees like in New England. ONLY if you read the afterward is slavery mentioned. It's not easy balancing what Jefferson did for this country with his being a slave owner. He's seen as a national hero and I suppose the writer wanted to focus only on the good. In 2015, it's not okay.

This book is about Roger Peterson who was a child with a creative mind. The story starts with his passion for insects and eventually focuses on what would become his life passion...birds. Roger is introduced to birds and immediately becomes fascinated by their diversity. Roger wanted to start drawing all the birds but could not quite remember every detail. Buying a camera was too expensive for roger, so he started a part time job in the morning before school until he had enough money to buy his first camera. Having a new pair of eyes to see the world through gave Roger a new way to study his birds. He entered a contest about birds and was chosen as the winner. He then flew to New York City where he met his role model who would inspire him to continue his dream. He later decided that he would publish a book that would make Roger famous. The book consisted of all types of birds giving snippet of information about each bird. The book took 3 years to published, once the book came out it was a hit. Roger's books were sold out within weeks. He continued to fulfill his life with birds and became an inspiration to naturalist everywhere.

SUMMMARY: This book is about Thomas Jefferson growing what we know today as our nation. This book talks about his a farmer going around the world to find different seeds that will survive in American soul. He invented the first tiller but he called it a plow. and he shared with other farmers. By him growing his knowledge of what we could plant here in America, helped many farmers grow crops and earn money to survive. he also brought trade into the world when he went over to different countries bringing about their seeds.

MY REACTION: I found this book very informative. I love how our 3rd president of the united states push to make the U.S. what it is today. I am glad he did not give up on our soil and our farmers.

CLASSROOM EXTENSIONS: 1. Have the students grow their own plant of chose in a cup in the classroom.
2.Have the class write about a time when they did not give up on something.
3. Maybe the kids could put on play based on the story for their parents and friends

This book takes us through the life of Roger Peterson also known as "Professor Nuts Peterson" and his developing passion for birds. He realized at a young age that he wanted to spend his life dedicated to learning about this species. The digital illustrations of the birds are just amazing. They look so life like and I really enjoyed the bright and vivid color scheme. I would use this book to talk with the kids about following their dreams no matter how big or small they may be. Everyone deserves to live their life doing something they are passionate about and this is the perfect book to represent that.

In my opinion, this an interesting but strange book. I liked the writing, as I found that it captured and held my attention while still informing me about an unknown aspect of Thomas Jefferson’s life—his affinity for growing things and gardening. The writing was extremely organized and flowed well, and made it an easy read, regardless of how fact-packed it was. However, I thought the illustrations—while certainly contributing to the text by acting as a way to further explain what the author is writing about—were borderline creepy, and essentially weirded me out. Additionally, although this book is classified as biographical fiction, the information from it is considered nonfiction. However, I had never heard about this side of Thomas Jefferson’s life, in all my years of learning history, and I found his actions hard to believe. The message of the book is that Thomas Jefferson is an intricate, complex person who loved to grow anything from olive trees to democracy and liberty.

This book reveals the farmer in George Washington. Washington was really into farming in a big way. This book outlines just how far he went in his farming pursuits. It's an extremely thorough book. Every sentence seems to be meticulously fact-checked. It also doesn't hide the fact that Washington was a slave owner. It is a very honest portrayal.

Handsomely desgined and illustrated, well-written introduction to the life and important work of the celebrated ornithologist and conservationist.

This story is about Roger Tory Peterson, who was a photographer and painter of birds. Roger kept very detailed notes about all the birds he in countered. This story shows that something that might be a hobby for someone else it can be a profession.

This story was about a young boy named Red who finds a polliwog in the Erie Canal and it grows into a huge giant frog he names Joshua. Joshua ends up being the hero of the town and Red becomes the mayor of the town. This story was called a folk tale that has been told for two hundred years. This can be used to explain to kids what a folktale is and read others to understand why they are important.

Independent Reading 9+
Awards NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Books for Children. School Library Journal Best Books of the Year

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