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This collection of children’s books celebrates the beauty and diversity of farm life, taking young readers on a journey through the changing seasons and the experiences of families who live and work on farms, showcasing the world of farming and agriculture.
These books provide a fun and engaging way for children to explore the beauty and importance of agriculture and the natural world around us.
Farm Life Books
Farm Boots by Lisl H. Detlefsen, Renee Kurilla
Grab your boots; it’s time to explore life on a farm! In joyful verse, follow a diverse cast of families as they work together to care for crops and animals on their farms through spring, summer, fall, and winter.
Follow farming families as they work and play in boots all year long. Whether springtime puddle-splashing, riding at the summer fair, or herding sheep into the barn in winter, there’s a type of boot for every kind of weather and activity.
Each season brings adorable farm animals, farming equipment, and boots in this exploration of farm and country life.
From the creators of Right This Very Minute, Farm Boots depicts a wide variety of agricultural settings in all four seasons. It celebrates footwear, fun, and life on and off the farm.
Can a quiet Iowa farm boy grow up to change the world? Norman Ernest Borlaug did. Born in 1914, raised on a small farm, and educated in a one-room schoolhouse, Norman Borlaug learned to work hard and excelled in sports, and later studied forestry in college, eventually becoming a plant scientist.
Readers will discover how Norman Borlaug dedicated his life’s work to ending world hunger even from a young age. Working in obscurity in the wheat fields of Mexico in the 50s and 60s, Norm and his team developed disease-resistant plants. When widespread famine threatened India and Pakistan, Norm worked alongside poor farmers, battled bureaucracy, and fearlessly stood up to heads of state to save millions of lives from mass starvation.
Often called the “Father of the Green Revolution,” Norm helped lay the groundwork for agricultural technological advances that alleviated world hunger. He went on to win the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1970. He was a true hero for the hungry.
Text features throughout the book include:
- Sidebars on the science of plant hybridization and pathology Norman was using to produce new and better wheat varieties
- Information on a range of agriculture and plant life concepts, including agronomy, wheat genes, photoperiodism, stem rust, nutrients, and more
- Back matter including a timeline of events and discoveries and a call to action for readers to think about how they can use science to solve problems and how they can do small things to help with hunger and food waste
Hero for the Hungry is excellent for a science class learning about genetics, an agriculture class studying agronomy, or a history or English class looking for a well-written biography on a hero scientist.
Related: Tips and Tricks to Getting Started on a Strawberry Garden
Veggie Power by Annette Roeder Olaf Hajek
As more and more families focus on local and organic eating, this delightful introduction to common vegetables offers a delectable serving of uncommonly beautiful illustrations and fascinating information.
Olaf Hajek’s wondrously imaginative and detailed illustrations of vegetables are paired with engaging and eye-opening texts. Organized by season, the book tells how each vegetable is grown and can be enjoyed on our plates, as well as its health benefits, historical tidbits, and botanical fun facts. From the first spring onion to pumpkins harvested just before the frost, this inviting journey through the growing seasons celebrates the artistic, historical, and culinary bounty that awaits us in the garden and at the table. ($19.95; Ages 3-7; 40 pages)
Fantastic Fruits by Annette Roeder Olaf Hajek
A beautiful exploration of everyone’s favorite fresh food, Olaf Hajek’s brilliantly colored and uniquely stylized paintings are accompanied by informative texts that enthrall readers of all ages.
As in his previous books, Flower Power and Veggie Power, Hajek’s whimsical, imaginative paintings—inspired by various artistic traditions—situate each fruit in a fascinating cultural context. Each “portrait” features delightful pictorial clues about how the fruits are grown and consumed. Opposite the illustrations, Annette Roeder’s engaging texts offer illuminating and often surprising facts from throughout history and contemporary life. As mouthwatering as a summer peach and as surprising as a pomegranate’s seeds, this book serves up page after page of delicious, nutritious, but most of all, fun portions of fruity knowledge from all over the world. ($19.95; Ages 6-9; 40 pages)
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