Harvest

This book is a wonderful story about a young girl and her garden. She shares the hard work that it took to grow a magnificent and bountiful garden. She tells the story as she harvests the fruits, vegetables, herbs, and flowers. At the end the mother and daughter store the harvested produce for use later that year. Now that all the hard work has been finished, everyone can rest, including the garden. The pictures in the book are elaborately colorful and have a lot of details, such as the cat making it onto every page the girl is on. I believe this book to be an asset to the classroom that should be shared with students right before Thanksgiving Break.

This is an exquisite book and I am amazed that I am the first person to review it. I hope this will encourage people to buy it because it is too lovely to be missed. The talented Kris Waldheer has maintained her history of excellence in the beautiful seasonal illustrations and in the simple but atmospheric text. It is a short story, almost like a thanksgiving ode that takes place over the course of a day in autumn when a little girl and her mother harvest the garden they have been tending all summer. They work together to can and bake and hang flowers and herbs for drying. She reflects over the careful work they did from seed packet to canning jar. Herbs, fruits, vegetables and flowers overflow from the bountiful illustrations and offer a sweet nostalgic feeling that is perfect storytime fare for the autumn months. There is a subtle feeling of the changing of the seasons and a comforting feeling of the natural cycle of Nature. This is a book that opens the world of the quiet thrills of garden and kitchen and introduces it to children in such an inviting way that it could very well help create a life-long appreciation for gardening, home crafts and Nature that will serve them in so many ways. Don't miss it. It is a quiet little gem with excellent values.