ACTIVITIES * TEACHING RESOURCES * LESSON PLANS * REVIEWS
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Compost Stew:
An A to Z Recipe for the Earth 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) |
ACTIVITIES for kids
NEW! Can I Compost This?
Simply click the picture to find out! NEW! 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) 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) Worm your way through Compost Crunch (online game) Back at the Barnyard, help Compost the Most with the Compost-It-Mobile! (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! Plant an Upside-Down Tomato-a-Go-Go TEACHING RESOURCES and LESSON PLANSNEW! Compost Stew - 30 day unit of study
Creating Compost in the Classroom (gr. 2) NEW! Classroom Composting (pdf) lesson in creating a mini-compost pile NEW! Introduction to Composting (pdf) Kindergarten (see Lesson 4) NEW! Composting in a Bottle & other activities (pdf) NEW! Bottle Biology - build a decomposition column to observe & explore the process of composting NEW! Composting: Nature's Way of Recycling gr. 3 lesson with worm worksheets NEW! NYC Compost Project Tip Sheet (pdf) (Fun Worm Facts & Worm Anatomy Coloring Sheet) NEW! NYC Compost Project Tip Sheet (pdf) (Decomposers in a Compost Pile & Identification Guide) NEW! My Garbology - The Study of Waste (interactive online game & resource center for teachers, students & families) NEW! TURF MUTT - Compost Lesson: Recycle & Reuse Activity: To Compost or Not to Compost? (Gr. K-2) NEW! Compost Skit (K-3) with handout (pdf) (Food Web of the Compost Pile) NEW! Taking Care of Nature's Resources (pdf lessons) Big Dig / Trash Garden / Kids Take Action NEW! Little Rotters composting animation video Worm Coloring Pages (pictures, jokes, mazes) Little Rotters Composting Handbook (pdf) (to assist schools with starting a composting club) Let's Compost! Save Organic Scraps workbook (pdf) Got Rot? My Composting Book (pdf - student booklet) Sid the Science Kid: Decayed Pumpkin Investigation Composting: Compost Critters / Compost Chefs Compost Crops / Worms at Work (pdf - lesson plans) CSI: Compost Science Investigation (pdf - activity book) Compost in a Bag / Compost Tag / Let's Build a Worm Bin / Warming Up to Worms / Worm Diner (lesson plans) A Beaver's Tale: Compost curriculum guide (lessons) Composting in a Jar (pdf - lesson/worksheet) Nature's Recyclers - Informational Coloring Book Composter Coloring Pages and Crossword Puzzle Garbage Pie - Coloring Pages / Posters "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) Composting Guide (pdf - includes kids' puzzles) By the Skins of Our Bananas (pdf) (lesson/outline for creating a play about composting) 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 |
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 |
© Mary McKenna Siddals
