~ borrowed from the Library

This little Margaret Hillert book is at the beginning First Grade reading level. It has 189 words and it's even Common Core Suggested. (Teachers should know there is an AR test available)

The story as you can imagine is all about gardening. It begins with the boy asking his dad what he is doing. Father answers by saying:

I am making a spot to grow a garden for
good things to eat.
You can help.

They then dig and weed and make funny faces before planting vegetables. The book touches on the fact that things don't happen right away. That it takes rain and sun and time for the vegetables to grow. The artwork shows a new sprout and then a garden more further along. The boy and dad bring in veggies and the book ends with salad for all.

I'm generally a fan of this illustrator but I have to say that this is not his best work. Some of the figures aren't well drawn and at least of the two page drawings seem mismatched for the text. (Hillert wrote these books way back in the last century; the illustrations though are new.)

Even with these flaws this is still a useful book. With young non-readers you can talk about how plants grow and name/identify the plants. Then, of course, the book is a practice reader for children reading at the beginning 1st Grade level. ( )