Butterfly Park by Elly MacKay

from goodreads

4 stars

Yesterday we went to Kiwanis Park. They have a pool there which is like a lake where it is shallow around all the edges and then gets deeper in the middle. While the kids and I were paddling around a butterfly decided to flit around us. It went from head to head as if it was trying to figure out which one of us was the most sweet to land on.

There is something about butterflies that make me smile. When I see them I feel at peace and that I am in some magical point in time. They are so delicate and beautiful. They definitely give me a lot of joy.

Synopsis

A little girl moves from her country home to the city. She is sad to be leaving behind the beautiful butterflies. When she notices that beside her house is a park called Butterfly Park she is excited and can't wait to see butterflies again.

My Thoughts

This was a a sweet story. My older kids really liked it. They liked when everyone got together to build a butterfly garden in the park.

I liked how it showed that children's interests and desires help to build community. It was through the children's desire for butterflies to remain in Butterfly Park that children and adults alike pulled together to make it a beautiful place. I loved that.

I loved the whimsical quality of this book. I loved how the little girls dress looked like butterfly wings. It was just lovely

Community Soup by Alma Fullerton

from goodreads

2.75 stars

Since winter has finally hit and seems reluctant to leave I have been thinking about the nice things you can do in winter. Many of those things revolves around ingesting something warm, whether it is hot chocolate or soup. I try to serve soups at least once a week in the winter. I love soup for its simplicity, its nutrition, and its warmth.

This is this year's book for the Let's Read campaign of Waterloo Region. If you are in Waterloo January 30th, the McCormick Branch is having activities and a free skate. Be sure to check it out. I know I'm looking forward to it.

Synopsis

It is time for the school to make soup. But when Kioni discovers her goats in the vegetable garden who knows what will happen.

My Thoughts

This book was Mary had a little lamb meets a Kenyan school. Instead of a lamb it was goats, and instead of Mary it was Kioni. There is even faint references to that nursery rhyme within the story.

The story wasn't all that great. I did enjoy the pictures but even they were just alright. It just seemed a bit jumbly to me and just jumped from thing to thing.

What I did like was the recipe at the end of the book. It was for a pumpkin vegetable soup. We made it for dinner on the weekend and my daughter has been taking the leftovers for her lunch. So that added a bit of fun.

So, to me this was really a middle of the road type of book. But if you are looking for a yummy soup recipe, check it out.

One Watermelon Seed by Celia Barker Lottridge Illustrated by Karen Patkau

from goodreads

3.5 stars

After a sugar high weekend my girls have firmly shifted their focus to "the Christmas List". They are dutifully writing or drawing everything that their little hearts desire. I fear there will be some disappointed little kiddies Christmas when they do not have all the twenty billion things on the list. Oh well, thems the brakes.

I have finally sorted out everything that I want to do for the cousins for Christmas. Now I just have to make it. As for my own kids. I don't want to get them anything. Isn't that horrible? I think I have reached my threshold of toys and clothes and craft stuff. I totally get where the Grinch was coming from. It's a good thing my husband is soft-hearted. I'm sure he will get them something lovely.

Synopsis

Max and Josephine plant a garden. They get to see their plants grow and enjoy a bountiful harvest. Plant and count along with them.

My Thoughts

While there is not much of a story this was a neat book. The illustrations are fresh and made me think of spring and summer. The book invites the children to count without it seeming predictable. My kids are already planning what we are going to plant in our garden next year and are asking for the seeds as part of their Christmas list. So, in that regard, this book is great for getting kids to get excited about gardening and producing their own food.

I like how at the end they show the inside of each food. I also like how they have a bit of an eye spy finding game at the end as well. It helps the kids learn more about food as well as the whole ecosystem of a garden.

While reading it there was one thing that super bugged me. Okay, maybe two. It was the harvest yields and timing. The way the book goes they are picking strawberries the same time as pumpkins etc. Fruit and vegetables have different growing seasons here people! Hello! I know the point of the book is to count and to help kids get excited about gardens and it would be hard to talk about different harvest times of the fruits and vegetables. I know it's not the biggest deal. At the same time I don't want my kids to think they are going to get watermelons in October.

The second thing was the yield amounts. Some of them seemed a bit off for the number of seedlings planted. Yes, yes, I know it is a kids book and they are teaching about math and counting. I know. I know. But still. It bothered me.

Now that I have the rants out of me. I still liked this book. I like it mostly for the catalyst it provided for my children's imaginations than for the the story or factual accounts of gardening. So read this book, and dream about next years harvest.