Thank a Farmer
by Maria Gianferrari (Author) Monica Mikai (Illustrator)
Infused with jubilance and warmth, this luminous, lyrical picture book celebrates the people and the work that put food on our tables.
Bread, milk, wool, fruits, and vegetables: things that fill our day to day lives. But where, and who, do they come from? Across wheat fields and city rooftop gardens, mushroom beds and maple forests, Thank a Farmer traces the food and clothing that a family uses back to the people who harvested and created them.
With Maria Gianferrari’s informed and poetic text and monumental artwork from Monica Mikai, Thank a Farmer gently emphasizes the importance of agriculture in our day-to-day lives and reminds readers to give thanks to farmworkers around the world.
Color illustrations throughout.
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Publishers Weekly
Rooted in gratitude, this educational title explains in simple yet comprehensive terms how animal products and foods move from farm to table. Narrating in free verse, Gianferrari succinctly compresses complex farming, production, and supply chain processes into easy-to-follow lines, inviting readers to learn about the origins of bread, cereal with milk, salad and veggies, and other favorites. For each food highlighted ("If you like peanut butter and jelly sandwiches"), simple lines detail their journey to the table ("Peanut pods/ Grow underground./ Diggers pull up plants, / Shake off soil"), ending in a sensory descriptive phrase ("Creamy and crunchy"). Mikai's textural illustrations feature a Black family enjoying farmed products, flanked by lush fields, orchards, and harvests, and variously diverse depictions of the many individuals whose labors lead to every mouthful. Endnotes offer more about various farming methods. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.School Library Journal
Gr 1-3--Kids rarely know where their food grows or how it is prepared for them before it hits their table. This book shows the intricate path of the food delivery system that brings the goods to their kitchens. The story is written in a rhythmic way and highlights some new and interesting vocabulary. The illustrator uses a colorful palette to represent the richness of green vegetables, bright red of strawberries, sunny yellow of lemons, blue of berries, clay-colored earth, and all the natural colors in between. The story is informative and fun, and the back matter is sizable, with plentiful resources for further research or guided study. Books that eloquently address the genesis of everyday things are few and far between. Harriet Ziefert's A New Coat for Anna details all the steps Anna's mother takes to construct a coat. Marguerita Rudolph's How a Shirt Grew in the Field also comes to mind. Young readers will be intrigued by Gianferrari's offering. VERDICT An excellent book for elementary readers that will surprise them as they turn each page, and a must for the nonfiction shelves.--Joan Kindig
Copyright 2023 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.Maria Gianferrari lives in northern Virginia with her scientist husband, artist daughter, and rescue pets, Becca the dog and Lucia the rat. She has written several books for Roaring Brook Press, including Bobcat Prowling, Hawk Rising, and Hello Goodbye Dog.
Maris Wicks is a writer and illustrator of science comics, as well as a self-proclaimed gigantic nerd. She has written, drawn, and colored comics for First Second Books, New England Aquarium and Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, as well as Spongebob Comics, Marvel Comics, and DC Comics.
JNF033000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Lifestyles | Farm & Ranch Life
JNF014000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Cooking & Food
JNF037030 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Science & Nature | Flowers & Plants
JNF032000 - Juvenile Nonfiction | Lifestyles | Country Life
Farms
Agriculture
JUVENILE NONFICTION / Cooking & Food
Informational works
