________________ CM . . . . Volume VI Number 20 . . . . June 9, 2000

cover Grow It Again. (Kids Can Do It Series).

Elizabeth MacLeod. Illustrated by Caroline Price.
Toronto, ON: Kids Can Press, 1999.
40 pp., pbk., $5.95.
ISBN 1-55074-558-1.

Subject Heading:
Gardening-Juvenile literature.

Grades 2-7 / Ages 7-12.
Review by Susan Fonseca.

**** /4

excerpt:

"Ever wondered where Ali Baba's secret password, 'Open Sesame!' comes from? Sesame seed pods burst open when they're ripe, like a door opening when the correct magic phrase is said."
image This is just one of the "Can you believe it?" questions that are sprinkled throughout this amazing book. Elizabeth MacLeod is an award-winning author who began writing while editor of OWL. Her latest book is affordable and brimming with ideas for every teacher or child who wants to learn about plants and growing a garden. As an added bonus, MacLeod has woven a theme of environmental consciousness throughout the book.

Grow It Again opens with an introduction and a list of the materials that are required to complete the outlined activities. This information is followed by a set of helpful tips to ensure success. The book, itself, is divided into three sections. MacLeod begins with plants that grow from the tops of carrots, yams, pineapples and turnips. The second section looks at all the seeds one might find in the kitchen and how best to grow them. The final section deals with suggestions for plants that grow below the ground. Caroline Price's very effective illustrations provide the reader with easy to follow guidelines for each of the activities. The drawings of the plants which grow from each activity will also inspire the young gardener.

However, this work is more than a gardening book. Throughout each of the sections, the reader will find excellent recipes, crafts, amazing facts and even "Hoe, hoe, hoe" riddles to solve! Students will be drawn to the seed necklaces, seed painting and the pressed flowers. The whole class could sit down and enjoy a feast of carrot-pineapple muffins, sesame seed bars and guacamole. Parents will be thrilled with the beautifully decorated planters created from reused milk and juice containers.

Grow It Again contains excellent curriculum supports in the areas of science, mathematics and language arts.

Highly Recommended.

Susan Fonseca is a teacher-librarian at Glenwood School in Winnipeg, MB.

To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.

Copyright © the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.

Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364

TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - June 9, 2000.

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