The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough

By Katie Smith Milway

Book Overview

From the best-selling author of One Hen comes the inspiring story of one struggling farming family in Honduras and their journey to growing enough food to meet their needs.

Based on the real story of farm transformation underway in Honduras and many other countries, this book offers children ways they can be part of the movement to grow "good gardens" and foster food security. Eleven-year-old Mar?a Luz and her family live on a small farm. This year their crop is poor, and they may not have enough to eat or to sell for other essentials, such as health care, school uniforms and books. When Mar?a's father must leave home to find work, she is left in charge of their garden. Then a new teacher comes to Mar?a's school and introduces her to sustainable farming practices that yield good crops. As Mar?a begins to use the same methods at home, she too sees improvements, which allow her family to edge their way out of the grip of the greedy "coyotes" --- the middlemen who make profits on the backs of poor farmers. Little by little, the farms --- and the hopes --- of Mar?a and her neighbors are transformed as good gardens begin to grow.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1554534887
• ISBN13: 9781554534883
• Release Date: September 2010
• Publisher: Kids Can Press
• Length: 32 Pages
• Weight: 1.14 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 9.2" x 12.1"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Everything I hoped it would be

I was searching specifically for a book about gardening for my children. Even though this one is too mature for them currently (ages 5, 4, and 2), they are enjoying the pictures and will absolutely grow into the written content. I love that it brings the culture of a foreign county to my American children by showcasing a family from rural Honduras. It gives clear, timeless guidance on caring for soil and farming productively. It gives some simple economic input also on business as the little girl in the story learns how to sell the food she grows at the local market. In America we are calorie rich, but nutrient poor and our climate and creatures are crying out from neglect and abuse. Most Americans do not have any idea how to grow their own food and we may find ourselves in a terribly vulnerable situation due to this lack of knowledge. This book is an excellent resource for parents to begin teaching basic food security principles to their children.