Kid Lit Saves World

Edible Schoolyard: book review

Hardcover, 80 pages

Chronicle Books
ISBN-13: 978-0811862806
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I waited a bit too long to review this book, which came out last year. But it was a hesitation born of love. It was clear that Alice Waters had done the schools and schoolchildren of the world a great favor by starting the first Edible Schoolyard project -- now a legendary source of good food, learning, and life-changing joyful community -- and I didn't want to gloss over this volume celebrating the fact.

The book is, of course, lusciously designed by Chronicle (what do they publish that is not the very best of its kind?). Photographs of ladybugs and other insects, as well as small blossoms, appearing in the margins of Waters' essay on learning from the land, cooking and each other. Interspersed are spreads depicting outdoor views of this well planned earth-renewing (and community spirit-renewing) school project and the children and adults who have brought it to life for over a decade. I dare you to read the story of this garden and kitchen and not be moved to want to plant Something, grow it, and eat it.

Generous back matter includes spreads of the kitchen and garden as well as essays from the children's journals -- on learning to cook, eating and sharing food. Their shares make clear the connection between the time we spend teaching them and feeding them, and children's general feeling about what kind of a place the world is, whether safe and worthwhile or dismal and dry. The gift of this school program is that it provided a model that schools, principals, teachers, parents and children can bring into our own communities to help us all flourish as we learn together by interacting directly with the land that grows our food. Over 400 school districts have since embraced its method, in which children learn science, history and math alongside lessons in organic gardening, healthful cooking, and sharing food with friends.

Well done, Alice Waters! (and thank you for Chez Panisse Foundation, too).

Find out more about the Edible School Project, which has been responsible for a "school food revolution."

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Ceci Miller is co-publisher of BooktiMookti Press, home of the Runt Farm chapter book series. She is also a children’s author, book editor, and owner of CeciBooks editorial and book publishing consultancy for authors and indie publishers. See some of her book projects here.

What the World Eats (Hungry Planet)

What the World Eats
Peter Menzel and Faith D’Aluisio

Ages 11 to 14
Hardcover, 160 pages
Full-color photographs

Ten Speed / Tricycle Press
ISBN: 9781582462462
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Australia, China, Chad, France, Greenland, India, Mali, Turkey, and the U.S. All over the world, families are sharing meals.

It may seem like a stretch to call this a planet-saving book, but I think it is one. For one thing, What the World Eats makes the point – colorfully, beautifully, and with good humor – that in many parts of the world, people eat far less than we do here in the U.S. where over two thirds of the population is obese.

It’s not news, but this book’s photojournalistic approach is. Throughout the book we witness one week’s worth of food, family by family, budget by budget, in 21 countries around the world. Brimming with heartwarming family portraits and family recipes from many countries, this extraordinary act of nutritional reporting brings a whole new level of meaning to the old adage, “You are what you eat.” The images and voices of these cooks and consumers could be our own, and they stick.

I’ve been reading this book at lunch. I’m a mostly-vegetarian who tends strongly toward whole foods, so I love seeing these photographs of big bags of potatoes, heaps of carrots, rows of manzanitas, piles of peppers, huge sacks of rice. Photographic spreads on kitchens, street food, and fish offer a fascinating comparative global study of these foods and their preparation.

These richly colored images, which speak of Earth’s bounty, make me happy. But this book causes me to look deeper than the mere beauty of food, into its relationship to the land where it is grown, and into the impact of agricultural politics and lifestyle practices on the health and wellbeing of our species. The inquiry may not always be appetizing, but it’s increasingly essential as we seek to discover the causes and conditions – personal, cultural, and geopolitical -- that result in undernourishment and disease, as well as those that generate happiness and health.

As Michael Pollan and others have helpfully pointed out, our politics have everything to do with what ends up on our plates. The better we understand how to eat and live and cooperate in ways that acknowledge our common dependence on the Earth for sustenance, and the more we begin to act in accordance with this wisdom, the kinder we are to the whole world.

So, yes. This big red book is definitely green.

Listen to photographer Peter Menzel and writer Faith D’Aluisio on NPR’s “All Things Considered.” 

Watch Hungry Planet and learn about what people eat in different parts of the world:

Stay tuned for more reviews of more kids' books that are saving the planet.
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Ceci Miller is co-publisher of BooktiMookti Press, home of the Runt Farm series of chapter books for ages 6-10. She is a children’s author, book editor, and owner of CeciBooks editorial and book publishing consultancy for authors and indie publishers. See books here.

You Can Save the Planet 50 Ways

                                                                                   

You Can Save the Planet                                                                                                           
50 Ways You Can Make a Difference                                                        
Jacquie Wines
Illustr. Sarah Horne

Ages 9-12
Mass Market Paperback, 112 pages

Scholastic Reference
ISBN: 978-0545053327
$4.99

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With playful, big-eyed illustrations printed on "a minimum of 10% post-consumer recycled fiber," this book comes quickly to its very serious point: the Earth's warming up and it's our job to do something about it!

Each chapter gives kids a single practical activity to help their household go green. It's a book that recognizes the hopeful trend of children becoming eco-watchdogs for the whole family, encouraging (and sometimes demanding that) their parents make choices that help save the planet over choices that keep us stuck in old, comfy, all-too-often wasteful ways.

Plenty of hidden science projects line these pages -- kids can conduct experiments to determine the length of time it takes for various materials to decompose when buried under the soil, discover the all-important role of trees, save rainforests, grow veggies, and learn how to take action on the four R's: Reduce, Reuse, Repair, and Recycle.

By giving children just enough of the why and a lot of down-to-earth guidance about the how, readers can feel empowered to make positive change regardless of their age.

You Can Save the Planet: 50 Ways provides a great family reference for going green one simple action at a time. Every household needs this book!

Each chapter could easily become the focus of a family project in which children and parents work together to:

* learn what global warming and the "greenhouse effect" are

* learn how to save water

* create a recycling system for your house

* help save Earth's plants and animals, and

* spread the word about saving the planet.

The bad habits of humanity's past have left so many crises in our wake. Becoming our children's and grandchildren's allies in cleaning up and caring for the Earth shows them we're willing to give our time and attention to making the world a better place for them and for their children and grandchildren. This book makes it fun (and cool) to go green!

Great sites to check out:

www.KidsRecycle.com
www.epa.gov/kids
www.TreeHugger.com

 

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