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Compost Stew

An A to Z Recipe for the Earth

Author Mary McKenna Siddals
Illustrated by Ashley Wolff
Look inside
Paperback
$8.99 US
RH Childrens Books | Dragonfly Books
10.06"W x 10"H x 0.14"D  
On sale Oct 14, 2014 | 40 Pages | 9780385755382
Preschool - 2
Reading Level: Lexile 780L | Fountas & Pinnell K
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Teach kids to compost and help them develop life-long habits to protect the Earth. From apple cores to zinnia heads, readers will discover the best ingredients for a successful compost pile in this fun picture book perfect for Earth Day!
 
Kids everywhere are seeking knowledge 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.
Mary McKenna Siddals is the author of several picture books for the very young, among them the critically acclaimed Millions of Snowflakes. In addition, she has written dozens of children’s stories, articles, poems and activities appearing in a variety of magazines across North America, including Owl, where she was the Puzzles ‘n’ Fun columnist for some time. A former teacher, she lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she enjoys being close to nature and spending time with her family, as well as tending to her own batch of Compost Stew. View titles by Mary McKenna Siddals
© Sabin Russell
Ashley Wolff  is the author and/or illustrator of over 55 children’s picture books including I Love My Mommy Because and I Love My Daddy Because, Stella and Roy Go Camping, Me Baby, You Baby, The Wild Little Horse, Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?, I Call My Grandma Nana and the beloved  Miss Bindergarten Series. Her books have won numerous state and national awards. View titles by Ashley Wolff
Environmental chefs, here’s a recipe for you to fix from scratch to mix a batch of Compost Stew.
 
Ingredients:
Apple cores
Bananas, bruised
Coffee grounds with filters, used
Copyright © 2010 by Mary McKenna Siddals/Ashley Wolff. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
  • FINALIST
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award
Review, CM Magazine, October 15, 2010:
"An imaginative and engaging introduction to the concept of composting."

Review, Through the Looking Glass, June 1, 2010:
"This wonderful rhyming picture book will show children how easy, and how fun, composting can be."

Review, San Francisco Chronicle:
"Bouncy rhymes and busy collage art zip along as everything from apple cores to zinnia heads gets tossed into a rich and rotting soil-bound mix. A potentially heavy-handed message is delivered with a light touch so that you want to start your own waste heap right away. Mission accomplished!"

Review, Washington Post:
"When it comes to promoting environmentalism, there's no harm in starting young....Ashley Wolff's collage-style illustrations, made from newspaper, tea bags and other recycled materials, echo writer Mary McKenna Siddals's message of reducing waste."

Review, Booklist:
"This title highlights a subject rarely covered in youth books and provides a lighthearted introduction to an earth- and kid-friendly activity. The brightly patterned collage artwork featuring a cast of multicultural kids working together will easily draw a young audience."

Compost Stew is beautiful, poetic, evocative—and educational. It provides such vital, important information for children (and adults) to understand and embrace, and to put into practice! This book greatly respects its readers, and I hope it will become as widely read and popular as it deserves. 
–Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook and Pretend Soup

About

Teach kids to compost and help them develop life-long habits to protect the Earth. From apple cores to zinnia heads, readers will discover the best ingredients for a successful compost pile in this fun picture book perfect for Earth Day!
 
Kids everywhere are seeking knowledge 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.

Author

Mary McKenna Siddals is the author of several picture books for the very young, among them the critically acclaimed Millions of Snowflakes. In addition, she has written dozens of children’s stories, articles, poems and activities appearing in a variety of magazines across North America, including Owl, where she was the Puzzles ‘n’ Fun columnist for some time. A former teacher, she lives in British Columbia, Canada, where she enjoys being close to nature and spending time with her family, as well as tending to her own batch of Compost Stew. View titles by Mary McKenna Siddals
© Sabin Russell
Ashley Wolff  is the author and/or illustrator of over 55 children’s picture books including I Love My Mommy Because and I Love My Daddy Because, Stella and Roy Go Camping, Me Baby, You Baby, The Wild Little Horse, Who Took the Cookies from the Cookie Jar?, I Call My Grandma Nana and the beloved  Miss Bindergarten Series. Her books have won numerous state and national awards. View titles by Ashley Wolff

Excerpt

Environmental chefs, here’s a recipe for you to fix from scratch to mix a batch of Compost Stew.
 
Ingredients:
Apple cores
Bananas, bruised
Coffee grounds with filters, used
Copyright © 2010 by Mary McKenna Siddals/Ashley Wolff. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Awards

  • FINALIST
    Bank Street Child Study Children's Book Award

Praise

Review, CM Magazine, October 15, 2010:
"An imaginative and engaging introduction to the concept of composting."

Review, Through the Looking Glass, June 1, 2010:
"This wonderful rhyming picture book will show children how easy, and how fun, composting can be."

Review, San Francisco Chronicle:
"Bouncy rhymes and busy collage art zip along as everything from apple cores to zinnia heads gets tossed into a rich and rotting soil-bound mix. A potentially heavy-handed message is delivered with a light touch so that you want to start your own waste heap right away. Mission accomplished!"

Review, Washington Post:
"When it comes to promoting environmentalism, there's no harm in starting young....Ashley Wolff's collage-style illustrations, made from newspaper, tea bags and other recycled materials, echo writer Mary McKenna Siddals's message of reducing waste."

Review, Booklist:
"This title highlights a subject rarely covered in youth books and provides a lighthearted introduction to an earth- and kid-friendly activity. The brightly patterned collage artwork featuring a cast of multicultural kids working together will easily draw a young audience."

Compost Stew is beautiful, poetic, evocative—and educational. It provides such vital, important information for children (and adults) to understand and embrace, and to put into practice! This book greatly respects its readers, and I hope it will become as widely read and popular as it deserves. 
–Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook and Pretend Soup

Additional formats

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