About This Book
Reach for this book when you want to nurture a child's patience or encourage a picky eater to view vegetables with fresh eyes. It is a vibrant, sensory exploration of where food comes from, following a father and child as they transform tiny seeds into a steaming pot of soup. Through Lois Ehlert's iconic, high-contrast collage art, toddlers and preschoolers learn that good things take time, care, and hard work. This story celebrates the quiet pride of accomplishment and the joy of a shared family project, making it an ideal choice for building a positive relationship with nature and nutrition.
What Parents Should Know
Sensitive Topics
None.
Ideal Reader
A preschooler who is hesitant to try new foods, or a child who thrives on routine and "helping" adults with real-world tasks. It is also perfect for a city-dwelling child who may not have seen a garden in person and is curious about how a carrot gets to the grocery store.
Parent Prep
This book can be read cold. Parents may want to have some seeds or a few vegetables on hand to touch and smell while reading to enhance the sensory experience.
Age Experience
For a 2-year-old, this is a book about colors, shapes, and naming vegetables. They will focus on the bold primary colors. A 5-year-old will engage with the technical aspects: the labels for the tools, the different ways seeds look, and the sequencing of the cooking process.
What Makes It Special
Ehlert’s use of labeled diagrams within a narrative framework is unique. It treats gardening as both an art and a science, using sophisticated graphic design that respects a child's ability to understand complex processes through simple, bold visuals.
Read plot summary
The book follows a father and child through the cyclical process of gardening. It begins with the tools needed, moves through planting seeds and sprouts, tending the garden by weeding and watering, and culminates in a harvest. The vegetables are then washed, sliced, and cooked into a soup, concluding with the family eating their creation together. It includes a basic recipe and labeled botanical diagrams.
This overview was generated by AI based on the book's content and reviews, and may not capture every nuance.
Discussion Prompts
1
Which tool would you want to use in the garden: the shovel, the rake, or the watering can?
2
Look at how many different seeds there are! Why do you think a pea seed looks so different from a corn seed?
3
The book says we have to wait for the sun and rain to help the seeds grow. What is the hardest thing you ever had to wait for?
4
If we made our own soup together, which vegetable from the book would you want to put in your bowl first?
