Farmer Eva’s Green Garden Life by Jacqueline Briggs Martin, illustrated by Christy Hale, afterword by Eva Sommaripa. Readers to Eaters, 2024. 9780998047775
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 3.5
Format: Hardcover
What did you like about the book? Eva Sommaripa lives in South Dartmouth, Massachusetts on three acres of land. She enjoys “family, friends, neighbors, and all the creatures that crawl, fly, squawk, slither, even microbes too tiny to see and so many plants.” She began growing herbs taking them into Boston to sell to restaurants. Many people came to help in her garden, digging together and eating together. She learned about the critters that lived in the soil and how plants grow. She respects all life.
Collage, print and line are used to create the earthy artwork, filled with people (a wide collection of ethnicities), plants and soil. A biographical note is appended along with what it means to be a woman farmer, suggestions for eating a variety of herbs, how to grow pea shoots, and details of the critters that live in the soil. There is also an Author’s Note and further resources.
Anything you did not like about the book? Not really.
To whom would you recommend this book? This book might inspire young readers to begin their own gardening projects.
Who should buy this book? Public libraries
Where would you shelve it? J 635 (books about Massachusetts..?)
Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? No.
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Katrina Yurenka, Retired Librarian, Contributor, Youth Services Book Review
Date of Review: June 12, 2024
Youth Services Book Review 
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