With an increasing number of home, school and community vegetable gardens springing up in our suburbs, A Patch from Scratch is a timely picture book offering children an insight into what is involved in planting and tending their own home fruit and vegetable patches.
Jesse and Lewis live in the suburbs on the edge of a big city, but their family wants to live more like a family on a farm. They work together to learn about sustainable gardening projects including what plants they should grow, how to make compost and how to care for their new chickens.
The illustrations and text, both by Megan Forward, take readers through the process of planning and preparing the gardens, planting, building a chicken coop, and connecting with their neighbours and community through their garden projects. The final pages include a recommended reading list for sustainable gardening, an illustration of the cycle that connects chickens, compost, gardens and plants, and some very simple recipes made by Jesse and Lewis during the story using produce from their garden.
A Patch from Scratch has more text than the average picture book, so is best suited for slightly older children or parents and children reading together, especially if they are starting their own sustainable gardens. It is also ideal for classroom use in preschools and schools where there are vegetable gardens maintained by staff and students.
Author/Illustrator: Megan Forward
Publisher: Penguin, $24.99 RRP
Publication Date: 28 March 2016
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780670078295
For ages: 5+
Type: Picture Book