ACTIVITIES * TEACHING RESOURCES * LESSON PLANS * REVIEWS
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Compost Stew
by Mary McKenna Siddals illustrated by Ashley Wolff Tricycle Press / 2010 Picture Book A recipe in rhyme for making dark, crumbly, rich, earth-friendly compost. LOOK INSIDE! - sample pages BUY at Amazon.com (U.S.) BUY at Amazon.ca (Canada) BUY from a local bookseller |
*PICK OF THE CROP MATERIALS*
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COMPOST STEW lesson plan for K-4 (sample chapter from BOOKS IN BLOOM)
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COMPOST STEW Activity Sheet
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COMPOST STEW Educator Guide - Indiana Farm Bureau
COMPOST STEW lesson plan (K-5) EcoSpaces Education
TEACHING MATERIALS FOR PURCHASE (TPT)
ACTIVITIES
A to Z Compost Stew: Alphabet Search Activity
Creative Composting Word Search
Alphabet Activities: Compost Sensory Bin
Sing along with Sid the Science Kid:
It's Not Scary, It's Decayed!
Guide Wallace the Worm to eat the compostable items, while avoiding all the bad stuff (online game)
Back at the Barnyard, help Compost the Most with the Compost-It-Mobile! (online game)
Can I Compost This?
Simply click the picture to find out!
Compost Buddies (animated video)
Check out the critters at work in your bin!
Explore the inside of a compost heap with the award-winning short film CREATURES OF THE COMPOST
Ollie Recycles! Help him sort it all out! (online game)
Watch the Composting for Kids slideshow
Follow the Adventures of Squirmin' Herman the Worm
Sort items for Composting in this online game
Can you keep a microbe happy? Tend your own
virtual compost heap with this online game
Create a model garden. Don't forget the compost bin!
Creative Composting Word Search
Alphabet Activities: Compost Sensory Bin
Sing along with Sid the Science Kid:
It's Not Scary, It's Decayed!
Guide Wallace the Worm to eat the compostable items, while avoiding all the bad stuff (online game)
Back at the Barnyard, help Compost the Most with the Compost-It-Mobile! (online game)
Can I Compost This?
Simply click the picture to find out!
Compost Buddies (animated video)
Check out the critters at work in your bin!
Explore the inside of a compost heap with the award-winning short film CREATURES OF THE COMPOST
Ollie Recycles! Help him sort it all out! (online game)
Watch the Composting for Kids slideshow
Follow the Adventures of Squirmin' Herman the Worm
Sort items for Composting in this online game
Can you keep a microbe happy? Tend your own
virtual compost heap with this online game
Create a model garden. Don't forget the compost bin!
TEACHING RESOURCES and LESSON PLANS
NEW! WINTER | Compost: Think Spring! (gr. 1-3)
AND Beyond the Garden | Matisse for Me! (pdf)
Compost Stew - 30 day unit of study
Creating Compost in the Classroom (gr. 2)
Introduction to Composting (pdf)
Kindergarten (see Lesson 4)
Composting in a Bottle & other activities (pdf)
Bottle Biology - build a decomposition column
to observe & explore the process of composting
NEW! RRR You Ready? NYC School Resource Guide
Chapter 5: All About Composting (pdf)
NYC Compost Project Tip Sheet (pdf)
(Decomposers in a Compost Pile / Decomposer Food Chain)
My Garbology - The Study of Waste
(interactive online game & resource center
for teachers, students & families)
Worm Coloring Pages (pictures, jokes, mazes)
Little Rotters Composting Handbook (pdf)
(to assist schools with starting a composting club)
Got Rot? My Composting Book (pdf - student booklet)
Compost in a Bag / Compost Tag / Let's Build a Worm Bin / Worm Diner (lesson plans K-5)
A Beaver's Tale: Compost Curriculum Guide (pdf)
Nature's Recyclers - Informational Coloring Book
Composter Coloring Pages and Crossword Puzzle
"Leaf" it in Your Yard (composting investigation:
4 lessons with instructional and student pages)
Cornell Composting in Schools (information/resources)
Composting: Wastes to Resources
(guide/posters/plans for building composters)
Nature's Recyclers: Activity Guide (pdf)
Educational materials (for purchase) including
Compost Gin (card game), Rot 'n Roll CD (songs), Poster
Let's Compost! A heap of picture books to get kids started
Let's Garden! Picture books for budding green thumbs
It's Easy Being Green! Picture books that encourage environmental awareness
AND Beyond the Garden | Matisse for Me! (pdf)
Compost Stew - 30 day unit of study
Creating Compost in the Classroom (gr. 2)
Introduction to Composting (pdf)
Kindergarten (see Lesson 4)
Composting in a Bottle & other activities (pdf)
Bottle Biology - build a decomposition column
to observe & explore the process of composting
NEW! RRR You Ready? NYC School Resource Guide
Chapter 5: All About Composting (pdf)
NYC Compost Project Tip Sheet (pdf)
(Decomposers in a Compost Pile / Decomposer Food Chain)
My Garbology - The Study of Waste
(interactive online game & resource center
for teachers, students & families)
Worm Coloring Pages (pictures, jokes, mazes)
Little Rotters Composting Handbook (pdf)
(to assist schools with starting a composting club)
Got Rot? My Composting Book (pdf - student booklet)
Compost in a Bag / Compost Tag / Let's Build a Worm Bin / Worm Diner (lesson plans K-5)
A Beaver's Tale: Compost Curriculum Guide (pdf)
Nature's Recyclers - Informational Coloring Book
Composter Coloring Pages and Crossword Puzzle
"Leaf" it in Your Yard (composting investigation:
4 lessons with instructional and student pages)
Cornell Composting in Schools (information/resources)
Composting: Wastes to Resources
(guide/posters/plans for building composters)
Nature's Recyclers: Activity Guide (pdf)
Educational materials (for purchase) including
Compost Gin (card game), Rot 'n Roll CD (songs), Poster
Let's Compost! A heap of picture books to get kids started
Let's Garden! Picture books for budding green thumbs
It's Easy Being Green! Picture books that encourage environmental awareness
REVIEWS
Rhyming text presents a lively look at
some of the things that can become compost.
The dynamic gouache and collage illustrations
are made of recycled materials.
–Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year
A delightful alphabet book...
for making your corner of the world green.
–Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Best Book Award
Just follow this fun A to Z rhyme of ingredients
and you'll have a mushy mess all of your own.
–The Canadian Children's Book Centre's
Best Books for Kids & Teens 2011
* Sometimes, one title just jumps out of the pile of books
and really speaks to us. Compost Stew is one such book...
–Kiwi Magazine (starred review)
An exuberant primer for green-minded kids.
–Publishers Weekly
Ashley Wolff's collage-style illustrations, made from
newspaper, tea bags and other recycled materials, echo
writer Mary McKenna Siddals's message of reducing
waste. –Rachel Saslow in The Washington Post
A rollicking, rhyming alphabetical recipe...
for budding environmentalists. –Kirkus Reviews
The brightly patterned collage artwork
featuring a cast of multicultural kids working together
will easily draw a young audience. –Booklist
A potentially heavy-handed message is delivered
with a light touch so that you want to start your own
waste heap right away. Mission accomplished!
–Susan Faust in the San Francisco Chronicle
An alphabetic recipe for soil-enriching
putrescibles... full of entertaining ickiness.
–Dashka Slater in Sierra Magazine
An imaginative and engaging introduction to the
concept of composting. –Dave Jenkinson in CM magazine
Using cafeteria scraps, recycled paper, and grass
clippings would teach students how to make this rich,
robust stew work for their own school gardens and,
literally and figuratively, improve the earth.
–Mary Hazelton in School Library Journal
An upbeat introduction to composting as an
important step for caring for the Earth. –Childsake
Beautiful, poetic, evocative--and educational...
I hope it will become as widely read and popular
as it deserves. –Mollie Katzen, author of
Moosewood Cookbook and Pretend Soup
If ever there was a hilarious educational A to Z
to understand the dirt on composting, this is the one.
–Laure Latham, San Francisco Green Parenting Examiner
Simple but effectively informative for young children...
a great fit for eco-friendly schools and homes.
–Lee Littlewood in Kids' Home Library
So engaging and interesting, I didn't realize it was
also an ABC book until I reached the letter W!
Fun to read and informative to boot.
–Pink Me: Children's books reviewed for grownups
A recipe to whip up for Mother Earth.
–Leigh Goldman Balber in UrbanBaby Buzz
With delightful multimedia pictures on every page...
and a catchy text, this is a perfect book to share
with children who are eager to “be green.”
–Marya Jansen-Gruber in Through the Looking Glass
Rhyming how-to book on the importance of composting,
the simple act of turning kitchen and yard waste
into nutrient-rich soil. –BookPage
Lively verse that will beguile the ear as it
teaches kids how they can nourish their gardens.
Little ones will enjoy Wolff's bright, colorful collages
that almost seem to pop off the pages...
–Spirituality and Health
Beautiful collages help reinforce
the "eco" message of this clever rhyme.
A great introduction to earth friendly living.
–Picture Book Features ~ B3OK
“Bouncy verse” that keeps the pages turning,
while the eyes gobble up the collage illustrations.
–Marsha Weiner in Cornucopia Collection
Simple steps for cooking up compost stew follow the alphabet, and create a refrain that kids will love to repeat.
–Kathy Carroll at Celebrate Picture Books
Click here for Goodreads Reviews
some of the things that can become compost.
The dynamic gouache and collage illustrations
are made of recycled materials.
–Bank Street Best Children's Books of the Year
A delightful alphabet book...
for making your corner of the world green.
–Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Seal Best Book Award
Just follow this fun A to Z rhyme of ingredients
and you'll have a mushy mess all of your own.
–The Canadian Children's Book Centre's
Best Books for Kids & Teens 2011
* Sometimes, one title just jumps out of the pile of books
and really speaks to us. Compost Stew is one such book...
–Kiwi Magazine (starred review)
An exuberant primer for green-minded kids.
–Publishers Weekly
Ashley Wolff's collage-style illustrations, made from
newspaper, tea bags and other recycled materials, echo
writer Mary McKenna Siddals's message of reducing
waste. –Rachel Saslow in The Washington Post
A rollicking, rhyming alphabetical recipe...
for budding environmentalists. –Kirkus Reviews
The brightly patterned collage artwork
featuring a cast of multicultural kids working together
will easily draw a young audience. –Booklist
A potentially heavy-handed message is delivered
with a light touch so that you want to start your own
waste heap right away. Mission accomplished!
–Susan Faust in the San Francisco Chronicle
An alphabetic recipe for soil-enriching
putrescibles... full of entertaining ickiness.
–Dashka Slater in Sierra Magazine
An imaginative and engaging introduction to the
concept of composting. –Dave Jenkinson in CM magazine
Using cafeteria scraps, recycled paper, and grass
clippings would teach students how to make this rich,
robust stew work for their own school gardens and,
literally and figuratively, improve the earth.
–Mary Hazelton in School Library Journal
An upbeat introduction to composting as an
important step for caring for the Earth. –Childsake
Beautiful, poetic, evocative--and educational...
I hope it will become as widely read and popular
as it deserves. –Mollie Katzen, author of
Moosewood Cookbook and Pretend Soup
If ever there was a hilarious educational A to Z
to understand the dirt on composting, this is the one.
–Laure Latham, San Francisco Green Parenting Examiner
Simple but effectively informative for young children...
a great fit for eco-friendly schools and homes.
–Lee Littlewood in Kids' Home Library
So engaging and interesting, I didn't realize it was
also an ABC book until I reached the letter W!
Fun to read and informative to boot.
–Pink Me: Children's books reviewed for grownups
A recipe to whip up for Mother Earth.
–Leigh Goldman Balber in UrbanBaby Buzz
With delightful multimedia pictures on every page...
and a catchy text, this is a perfect book to share
with children who are eager to “be green.”
–Marya Jansen-Gruber in Through the Looking Glass
Rhyming how-to book on the importance of composting,
the simple act of turning kitchen and yard waste
into nutrient-rich soil. –BookPage
Lively verse that will beguile the ear as it
teaches kids how they can nourish their gardens.
Little ones will enjoy Wolff's bright, colorful collages
that almost seem to pop off the pages...
–Spirituality and Health
Beautiful collages help reinforce
the "eco" message of this clever rhyme.
A great introduction to earth friendly living.
–Picture Book Features ~ B3OK
“Bouncy verse” that keeps the pages turning,
while the eyes gobble up the collage illustrations.
–Marsha Weiner in Cornucopia Collection
Simple steps for cooking up compost stew follow the alphabet, and create a refrain that kids will love to repeat.
–Kathy Carroll at Celebrate Picture Books
Click here for Goodreads Reviews
COMPOST STEW
on NBC Philadelphia with "Composting Made Easy"
© Mary McKenna Siddals
