Planting a Garden in Room 6: From Seeds to Salad is a wonderfully engaging and graphically appealing picture book about a kindergarten class who planted a garden, tended it, and harvested food written by Caroline Arnold. Due out 15th March 2022 from Charlesbridge, it's 40 pages and will be available in hardcover and ebook formats.

This is such a wholesome and fun book. It's fully illustrated with photos in color of the children and their teacher, Mrs. Best. They are shown preparing the soil for planting, starting seeds, and improving the soil in their planting boxes with compost and earthworms. The tasks associated with planning, planting, and caring for the young plants are all shown in clear photos with simple accompanying easy to read text. Extra tips and important info are written in highlighted text boxes.

Subtle lessons about composting and reusing/recycling resources are also included in the text. The school in the book also has chickens and the author has included info about what services they perform and some of the tasks required to care for them.

The book has a natural story arc from planting seeds through harvesting (and eating) a delicious school grown salad. The photos which follow show tools used for gardening, a photo list of what parts of plants we can eat, questions and answers, a short glossary, and a resource links & bibliography lists for further reading.

This is an upbeat and fun book which is encouraging and accessible. Food security is an important and relevant theme for a majority of people in the world and knowing where our food comes from and being a part of that cycle is a vital skill-set.

Five stars. I really enjoyed this little book. This would be a superlative choice for public or school library acquisition, activity groups, community gardens/allotments, scouting type groups, youth groups, and similar.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

What an excellent introduction to gardening for young children! The book follows a kindergarten class as they plant a vegetable garden. Each step is recorded in vivid, detailed photographs that bring the subject to life. Kids will not only be fascinated by everything they learn about plants and natural science as they follow along, but they also will be engaged by following students just like themselves through the process.

The language is clear and simple and basic concepts of plant growth are explained in accessible manner. There is a simple Q&A section about gardening at the end, along with a glossary of terms. This would be an excellent introduction to a classroom unit on plants and gardening or to inspire kids to try a gardening project at home.

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

Caroline Arnold is the author and photographer of the photos used in this instructional book for children. Having had an interest in gardening as a young child, I have fond memories of learning about different types of seeds and plants. Whether it was in kindergarten growing plants from seed on a windowsill or helping my grandfather plant a vegetable garden with seeds or young seedlings, I always enjoyed watching plants grow and thrive, not to mention the reward of tasty home grown vegetables.

This book teaches children about various vegetable plants and their care, including how to prepare soil, creating mulch for fertilizer, the importance of earthworms, and proper watering and sunlight. Children are taught about terms such as shoots, seed leaves, stems, dried beans, seed coats, and roots.

In addition to sowing seeds, information is included on how to thin plants out to avoid crowding and encourage growth. Photos show how vegetable plants have distinctively shaped leaves, making them easy to recognize. A few different garden pests and helper insects are also mentioned.

Back matter includes tools necessary for gardening and answers to common questions such as getting started, how long it takes for seeds to germinate and bear fruit, and a vocabulary of garden terminology. Helpful links provide additional information and encourage further reading on this fun topic.

I highly recommend this book for its clear and concise information and the helpful photos that show children how to get their plants started,, how to care for them, and what type of harvest to expect and when.

Thank you to Charlesbridge and Net Galley for an ARC of this book.

Planting a Garden in Room 6 is a delightful book to explain the plant life cycle to young children. It details how a classroom teacher and her students prepare a garden. It starts with how to prepare the soil for a garden and culminates with the students harvesting the vegetable from the garden. There is a lot of useful information and photographs of the gardening process. The books also includes information at the back of the book including what parts of a plant do we eat, garden tools, garden questions, garden vocabulary, and online resources. This would be perfect for teachers to use as a resource when teaching about the plant life cycle. It would also make a great resource for a teacher who is interested in starting a classroom garden.

Great feature on the steps involved in growing a garden! It showcases not just plant growth, but also the maintenance steps of gardening and different types of plants. This book offers a wealth of learning, and I would highly recommend it to parents and teachers!

This was a wonderful peek into a real Kindergarten classroom that has a garden. The children have the opportunity to plant seeds, tend the garden, and harvest the fruits and vegetables in this beautifully photographed non-fiction book. I loved watching the progress that was made and how much participation the children were allowed to have.

This would be a wonderful book for any science teacher, pre-k or Kindergarten teacher, or anyone who is interested in starting their own garden. I highly recommend this book!

A gem of a book that chronicles Class 6's school garden and how it fits into their school ecosystem. Students set up their garden, sprout seedlings, transplant, weed, and harvest their plants for a delicious salad. Plant parts, cycling of nutrients, and gardening vocabulary are all used in their colorful picture book. Great to help inspire young gardeners in your own classroom!

This is an excellent book to share with young children. The photography clearly shows how to plant a garden, and the text is interesting and informative. Since many primary grade classes study plants and do some planting, this would be excellent material to read aloud and share or have in a classroom library for reference and enjoyment.