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ACTIVITIES  *  TEACHING RESOURCES  *  LESSON PLANS  *  REVIEWS

Compost Stew
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*
Dig in!  Simply click to download:

COMPOST STEW Lesson Plan - Books in Bloom
COMPOST STEW Lesson Plan for K-4 (sample chapter from BOOKS IN BLOOM)
COMPOST STEW Activity Sheet
COMPOST STEW Activity Sheet
COMPOST STEW Educator Guide - INFB
COMPOST STEW Educator Guide (Indiana Farm Bureau)
Picture
COMPOST STEW Classroom Presentation (Arizona Farm Bureau)
Picture
LESSON: Intro to Compost (Tending Our Common Ground)
COMPOST STEW Make & Do
COMPOST STEW Make & Do (BOOK IT! program)
COMPOST STEW Lesson Plan - EcoSpaces
COMPOST STEW Lesson Plan for K-5 (EcoSpaces Education)

TEACHING MATERIALS FOR PURCHASE (TPT)

Picture

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!


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

Watch the Composting for Kids slideshow

Follow the Adventures of Squirmin' Herman the Worm

Create a model garden. Don't forget the compost bin!


TEACHING RESOURCES and LESSON PLANS

Compost activities (bingo, matching, word scrambles), slideshows, posters, videos, and other resources

Composting in School:
A practical guide to composting food waste (pdf)


Guide to Starting a Composting
Program in Your School (pdf)


Compost Stew lesson plan
(part 1 - EcoSpaces Education)


Compost Stew lesson plan
(part 2 - EcoSpaces Education)


Do the Rot Thing:
A Teacher's Guide to Compost Activities (pdf)


Taking Care of Nature's Resources (pdf lessons)
Big Dig / Trash Garden / Kids Take Action


Sid the Science Kid: Decayed Pumpkin Investigation

Quest for Less - Chapter 2.3: Composting: Compost Critters / Compost Chefs / Compost Crops / Worms at Work (pdf)

Creative Composting  Teacher's Pack (pdf)

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)


Bottle Biology - build a decomposition column
to observe & explore the process of composting


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)


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 (pdf)

"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)


Educational materials (for purchase) including
Compost Gin (card game), Rot 'n Roll CD (songs), Poster

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


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