• Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth

Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth

Illustrator
Ashley Wolff
Publication Date
March 23, 2010
Genre / Grade Band
Fiction /  2nd − 3rd
Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth

Only 5 copies currently available
Description
From apple cores to zinnia heads, readers will discover the best ingredients for a successful compost pile! Kids everywhere are knowledgeable about the environment and climate change. Not only is composting becoming more common in households and residential gardens, but many school gardens feature compost piles, too. But how do you start a compost pile? What's safe to include? Perfect for an Earth Day focus or year-round reference, this inviting book provides all the answers for kids and families looking for simple, child-friendly ways to help the planet.
Publication date
March 23, 2010
Classification
Fiction
Page Count
-
ISBN-13
9781582463162
Lexile Measure
650
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Tricycle Press
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV029010 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | Environment
Library of Congress categories
Stories in rhyme
Compost

Publishers Weekly

Environmental chefs, / here's a recipe for you/ to fix from scratch/ to mix a batch/ of Compost Stew, invites a girl with curly titian hair. Letters stand for different components of what goes into a compost pile, and Wolff's cut-paper collages depict a multicultural group of kids, as well as a dalmatian and a goose, working together to collect material (Dirt clods, crumbled, / Eggshells, crushed/ Fruit pulp left behind, all mushed): And when the cooking is complete, / Mother Earth will/ have a treat, / dark and crumbly, / rich and sweet. An exuberant primer for green-minded kids. Ages 48. "(Mar.)"

Copyright 2010 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 4 An easy recipe for soil enrichment. Well written in rhyming text, the descriptive phrases are as engaging as a list of, well, garbage might be: "Dirt clods, crumbled/Eggshells crushed/Fruit pulp left behind, all mushed/Grass clippings/Hair snippings/and an Insect or two/Just add to the pot/and let it all rot/into Compost Stew." Collage illustrations, also made of recycled ingredients, reinforce the theme of reusing materials to create something new. As colorful and charming as the compositions are, the human and animal figures are flat and uninspiring. Student environmental groups might use this recipe to expand school recycling efforts and create compost for vegetable and flower gardens, or to give away to community members. Using cafeteria scraps, recycled paper, and grass clippings would teach students how to make this rich, robust stew work for their own school gardens and, literally and figuratively, improve the earth. This book is recommended as a general addition to library collections and a primary selection for in-school environmental education. Use it with Linda Glaser's "Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow" (Millbrook, 2010), Raymond Bial's "A Handful of Dirt" (Walker, 2000), or Bianca Lavies's "Compost Critters" (Dutton, 1993)."Mary Hazelton, Elementary Schools in Warren & Waldoboro, ME"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Mary McKenna Siddals
MARY MCKENNA SIDDALS is a former teacher who has written a variety of picture books, including the perennial favorite, Millions of Snowflakes, and the critically-acclaimed Compost Stew: An A to Z Recipe for the Earth.

JIMMY PICKERING is an artist and designer across the fields of fine art, illustration, and publishing. He has also created dozens of projects for theme parks and resorts around the world as a creative leader at Walt Disney Imagineering and Universal Creative. His illustrations have graced more than forty children's books.
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