Rating: 
Summary: What a wonderful book!
Review: This book is just full of creative and amazing ideas on gardening with children. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and it really inspired me to do more gardening with my little one this year [and I'm looking forward to doing some even more ambitious projects next summer when she's a little older]! I was really impressed with the fantastic ideas and it was very helpful that the author broke everything down into easily achievable steps. This is a GREAT book and I recommend it to anyone who is the least interested in playing in the dirt with their child!
Rating:
Summary: Go no further...
Review: This book put an end to my search for a GREAT gardening book to which my boys,ages 4&7, could immediately relate.The beautiful and precise detail of the illustrations grabbed their attention and stimulated many great ideas for how the imaginative plans and designs could be used in our raised garden. The suggestions for creating special little spaces such as the canopied walkway using morning glories grown up the sunflower stalks or the gourd tee-pee with the snap bean entry way really got them excited. What's great is that no suggestion is too complicated for a small child's first time gardening attempt or so simple as to be dull or predictable for an older child or adult. I 'm really enjoying the garden tips that I've never come across in my 15 or so years of gardening. I've recommended this book to a farmer friend and a long-time teacher who also found this book to enchanting. The authors could teach a thing or two to most authors of adult gardening books as well. This really is a "must have."
Rating:
Summary: What an inspirational gardening book - for kids AND adults!
Review: This book was an impulse buy for me at a local department store. Boy am I glad I trusted my impulse! This book provides kids with easy to follow garden "recipes". A great book for parents and grandparents who want to share the joys of gardening with the children in their lives. The idea gardens presented make it difficult for kids to resist the urge to get out and grow something in their backyard! My kids are having a hard time deciding which 2 (or 3, or 4) gardens to try this next Spring!
Rating:
Summary: Great Book - But be careful to avoid poisoning!
Review: This really is an enjoyable gardening book. However, since it is
a children's gardening book, I feel caution should be given
concerning some of the plant/seed suggestions.For example, the sunflower house ingredients include Morning
Glories (part of the Ipomea family). All members of the
Ipomea family have seeds that are mildly to highly toxic. As Morning Glory flowers set seed readily, seeds will abound in the area in which they are planted. This may not be a problem in a
household with older children. For the younger set though, this
could be a poisoning accident waiting to occur. As well, recommendations for the Moon Garden include jasmine
tobacco, moonflowers and four-o-clocks. Jasmine tobacco (Nicotiana alata) contains a highly toxic alkaloid, nicotine (think cigarettes), which is readily absorbed through ingestion or via contact with scrapes or cuts on the skin from handling the plant. Moonflowers (ipomea alba) belong to the same family as Morning Glories and their seeds should be considered potentially dangerous if eaten in any quantity. Four-o-clocks (mirabilis jalapa)have poisonous seeds and roots. In the introduction to the book, Lovejoy write "Since children will be touching and eating some of the plants, gardens should never be treated with herbicides, fungicides or pesticides." This is wise counsel, but given the potential natural hazard created by some of the suggested plants in the book, warning should be given to prospective gardeners (of all ages)concerning the caution required when choosing to introduce plants (especially
those that set seed readily) into a child's garden.
Rating:
Summary: Absolutley Charming!
Review: To put it simply, this book has re-awakened in me, not only the desire to garden, but all the wonders of nature. I am 28, have no children, and live in an apartment. But after reading this book, I was inspired to start a garden of my own. I remembered every ladybug, firefly and tomato of my childhood and it all came rushing back after dancing through the pages of this book. This book also illustrates that you do not need a huge yard to make a garden work, and it is not just for children-- dont be fooled!! It is for those kindred souls who think outside the box. For those who want to re-create the wonder of their childhoods, or their favorite storybooks, in the grasses of their own yards, or containers. I can not recommend this, or all three of Sharon Lovejoy's books enough. Cut through all the rules of gardening and what's left is the love of toiling in the mud, the miracle of watching a seed sprout, and the joy of nurturing the beauties you've planted! This is gardening as it should be. What a delightful, charming gift.
Rating:
Summary: At last getting dirty with kids is fun and educational!
Review: Wow! What an outstanding resource for parents and providers alike who want to instill into children of all ages the magic and wonderment of gardening. Even if you only use a "seed" of the many ideas in this book, you will still find your mind and children's all the richer. My four year old is known as 'the little botanist' and loves gardening as much as I, thanks to this book! Friends everywhere are asking the title or borrowing mine only to find they want their own copy.
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