I was lucky enough to review a first chapter sample arc for BRAIDING SWEETGRASS FOR YOUNG ADULTS and have to say that it is gorgeous and thought provoking, and I wish I had been able to read something like this when I was younger. In the same vein as BRAIDING SWEETGRASS, natural botany and stories figure very much into this chapter, and so I assume the whole book, but with a twist. The big twist is a story of Kimmerer's educational training and scientific boxing (I don't want to give it away, please read to understand), and how young adults can learn to think outside the box form a young age. Absolutely love this and want my own copy when it publishes.

The layout of this sample chapter is pleasing to the eye and the text is easy to follow without being over simplified. There are highlighted definitions and discussion questions to engage deeper with the text. I look forward to seeing the rest of the book. This looks like a great companion to the adult version.

Author Robin Wall Kimmerer is a botanist and a member of the Potawatomi Nation. In Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults, she uses personal stories to bring the reader into her world. She asks thoughtful questions and provides scientific definitions in sidebar notations. Illustrations are clear and informative. With prose that is as tranquil as a walk beneath the forest canopy, Kimmerer reminds the reader of the interconnectivity of all living things.

Pros: I have been hearing about Braiding Sweetgrass on podcasts and from my reader friends and have not picked it up yet. I loved having the opportunity to have an introduction to the book through this sample chapter for young adults. The illustrations, photographs, and notes in this book add so much to the text--it felt like an approachable, interesting textbook. I can see this book being read in middle school or high school as a companion to a fiction novel by an indigenous author.

Cons: None that I can think of except now I immediately want to read the book and have to wait until November!

Thank you to NetGalley and Lerner Publishing Group, Zest Books for the opportunity to read part of this book!

This is a review for the first chapter of the book, as the entire copy has not been published yet.

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults is a beautiful edited version perfect for younger readers. The info boxes allow them to dive in deeper, and the illustrations add to the overall narrative. I am looking forward to seeing the full version soon!

I have long been a fan of Robin Wall Kimmerer and her work. This version is the version I didn't know I needed. It is one I can use with budding researchers and educators (preservice and inservice. Just perfect!

I quickly downloaded the preview of BRAIDING SWEETGRASS FOR YOUNG ADULTS as soon as I saw it offered in the ‘read now’ section of NetGalley. I own both the paperback and the special hardcover edition of the original, as it is one of the most influential environmental texts to exist. With that in mind, I am so impressed with the first chapter excerpt. There’s a huge gap in the market re. environmental reads for young readers—the same young readers we are reliant upon for care & preservation of the natural world, and to raise their voice in favor of the planet—that is slowly filling with options like this. I truly cannot wait to see it in it’s entirety, and to share with every young reader I know.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me a sample chapter of "Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults". Below is my honest review of the first chapter.

I picked up this book because I had actually read part of the original version in college for one of my sociology/environmental studies courses. I was really glad to see another version for young adults, not because the original is hard to read, but because I think it would attract more readers.

So, this chapter is the author's (Robin Wall Kimmerer) reasoning for becoming a botanist. Very quickly, you learn that Kimmerer is Native American and that her perspective of the world is very different than a non-Native American. For example, she views plants as "teachers and companions" rather than mere objects. She has a beautiful way of writing that grabs attention of the reader that incorporates the culture that she grew up in.

Additionally, the sample chapter is very simple and short. It comes with pictures and word boxes to separate/emphasize different ideas. The color theme sticks to black/grey/various shades of green, which fit the theme of the book. The chapter ends with some discussion questions that I suspect instructors can use for their classes.

One of the benefits of this chapter is that it's short; it's about eight pages long. And having worked with youth for a couple of years, I've learned very quickly that many youth don't like to read. But I think this chapter gets the point across rather quickly, which would allow the reader to maintain attention and learn something without getting bored.

Overall, I would love to read the rest of this book as I did not read the whole original book while in college. It's quick and easy to read while also exploring a different perspective on how our relationship with nature can be, and should be, different.

Though this was just a brief sample of the larger book, I enjoyed what I did get to read and it made me excited to read the full novel when I get the chance. I love the style that this is written in, and even that there are pictures included with the text. I think it's cool this is being adapted for young adults, and can't wait to see the finished product.

I loved the original version of Braiding Sweetgrass and I am very excited for the adaptation of it, especially after reading this excerpt!

Braiding Sweetgrass for Young Adults
by Robin Wall Kimmerer; adapted by Monique Gray Smith; illustrated by Nicole Neidhardt
a great tease to a family story, wish i could read more

I received a preview of just the first chapter of this book, and I’ll say that it was enough to make me want to read the rest of it when it’s released! The adult version has been on my “to read” list for a while now, and I’m considering going straight for the the YA version upon its release! At least from what I read, this version makes the information so accessible for younger readers, and the visuals and reflection questions add greater depth to the insight that is written on its pages. This is something I’d be very interested in sharing with my students, so that they, too, can “look for relationships and understand the threads that connect the world. To join instead of divide.”

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for this advanced sample!

This first chapter—the writing, the beautiful visuals, the accessible questions to inspire a YA audience to think deeply and make connections—is spectacular. I have had Braiding Sweetgrass on my TBR pile for a while now, but I think I will go straight to this YA edition to read with my children. I read this chapter with my 12-year-old and 7-year-old (who is an avid gardener) and they can’t wait for the full version to be available. The ideas of marrying science and beauty seems so simple and intuitive, yet we are trained to separate them. This is wisdom you can feel in your bones, yet feels new and fresh. Will definitely want a copy on our shelves when it comes out!

This was only a sample chapter, but it has intrigued me enough to want to read the rest of the book.

As a child walking the woods, and as an Indigenous person with no one to guide me, I have many questions that I may find the answers to within these pages...

#BraidingSweetgrassforYoungAdults #NetGalley

Absolutely fantastic first chapter. I can already tell this book will be perfect for budding botanists and naturalists, and I was entirely hooked and ready to go grab the first copy of the original that I can find.