This year, I read (and read and read and read) the board book edition of Before We Eat: From Farm to Table by Pat Brisson, illustrated by Mary Azarian. We spend a lot of time at our local farm (Small Farm in Stow, Mass.!), and our son Jack loves it. This book replicates the farm-visit experience perfectly. It’s replete with all kinds of vehicles, the rhyme is pitch-perfect, the illustrations are perfect for poring over, and it’s generally an awesome meditation about the importance of folks who work in all sectors of our food system. Plus, for some reason known only to him, Jack thinks the picture of Pat and Mary is a picture of my wife and my mom, so he is always delighted to see the back cover.- from Katie Cunningham, executive editor, Candlewick Press
36 pages 978-0884486527 Ages 3-6
Keywords: food, farm, how things work, agriculture, stories in verse, gratitude, gardening, thankfulness, 3 year old, 4 year old, 5 year old, 6 year old
Also available as a board book 978-0884488330
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Milk doesn't just appear in your refrigerator, nor do apples grow in the bowl on the kitchen counter.
Before we eat, many people work very hard―planting grain, catching fish, tending farm animals, and filling crates of vegetables. With vibrant illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian, this book reminds us what must happen before food gets to our tables to nourish our bodies and spirits.
This expanded edition of Before We Eat includes back-of-book features about school gardens and the national farm-to-school movement.---from the publisher
Before We Eat has been adopted by the USDA’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.
* MOONBEAM GOLD AWARD * * GROWING GOOD KIDS AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE IN CHILDREN'S LITERATURE, AMERICAN HORTICULTURAL SOCIETY AND NATIONAL MASTER JUNIOR GARDENER PROGRAM *
Fountas & Pinnell Level L
