Growing green: A first book of gardening by Daniela Sosa illus.

The beautiful embossed cover of Growing Green will be a drawcard for young children. The bright colours of all items garden related plus a number of busy, happy children will guarantee a growing audience.

The contents page has sixteen chapters beginning with a ‘Getting Started’ page with tips on what basic items will be needed to start gardening, followed by fifteen different fruit and vegetables to be grown. These include strawberries grown in Wellington boots, tomatoes, Dwarf French beans, new potatoes, carrots, sweetcorn, pumpkins, avocado pits, radishes, cress heads, tin can herb garden, salad leaves, nasturtiums and finally sunflowers.

Each fruit or vegetable has a double page spread with an introduction to the plant, a ‘You will need’ segment with illustrations plus a ‘How to Grow’ section with step-by-step instructions and clear images. On each page there is also a season, time and environment table. On some of the pages there is a ‘Did you know?’ bubble with further information about the fruit or vegetable.

The glorious illustrations throughout this book plus the vibrant final endpapers will appeal to children and engage them in the task at hand. With support from a trusted adult this book may provide hours of enjoyment. Teachers may find this a useful text when teaching procedure as it is clearly set out and easy to follow.

Themes: Gardens, Gardening, Vegetables, Fruits.

Kathryn Beilby