Down to Earth: How Kids Help Feed the World

Footprints

by Nikki Tate

Kids all over the world help collect seeds, weed gardens, milk goats and herd ducks. From a balcony garden with pots of lettuce to a farm with hundreds of cows, kids can pitch in to bring the best and freshest products to their families' tables―and to market. Loaded with accessible information about the many facets of farming, Down to Earth takes a close look at everything from what an egg carton tells you to why genetic diversity matters―even to kids.

Genres: Nonfiction, Nature, Food

48 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 2013

About the author

Nikki Tate was born in Birmingham, England, but spent her childhood roaming the globe. In Australia, Nikki battled a tarantula, in Banff she was chased by a mother black bear, and in Ontario she wrestled with a Canada goose.

Despite the fact that she has been kicked, bitten, stung, pecked, and sprayed, she has never been able to resist injured, lost, or lonely-looking animals. Over the years, her menagerie has included horses, dogs, cats, birds, snakes, squirrels, rabbits, rats, gerbils, spiders, crayfish, hamsters, and a pond full of koi fish. These critters and their antics often find their way into her stories. Not surprisingly, Nikki's favourite book when she was little was Black Beauty, though she also loved The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe and The Hobbit.

Nikki has always enjoyed writing stories and still has the notebooks she used when she was eight years old. She made up stories about animals, plane crashes, outhouses, and Doctor Dolittle's travels in outer space.

A born ham, Nikki danced, acted, and modeled her way through her younger years. She still loves to perform, most often as a storyteller. She also enjoys camping, kayaking, horseback riding, travel, and building big things with sticks and string. Nikki lives on a tiny farm on Vancouver Island in British Columbia with a collection of furred, feathered, and finned creatures.

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

The title is a bit of a misnomer. It would be more accurate to say Down to Earth: animals and vegetables produced on Dark Creek Farm, how kids in third world countries help feed their families, and how kids in Canada participate in 4H (but of course that wouldn't be nearly as catchy a title).

Even so, it is an excellent book, showcasing current farming techniques other than those employed on factory farms. The information is readable without being simplistic and the photographs show the farming techniques in action.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From big to small there's something for all in "Down to Earth". I learned lots of new facts about farming and how kids like me can pitch in to help grow the best and freshest food for my family table. I made lots of connections to my garden and compared lots of other gardens to mine. I now know some cool tricks and tips that I will try out in the spring when I help my dad plant the seeds. Even though I loved learning about the different kinds of seeds and different ways of planting, my favourite part was learning about the animals. Seeing the cute ducks and bunnies just makes me want smile and I would love to have one of my own some day in the future! I liked this book and I would recommend it to my friends!

[Ariana · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Most people assume that only adults help provide the world with food. But in this book it helps explaining what part kids do in feeding the world too. I also liked all the little fact boxes and jokes throughout the book it added a bit of character which was nice. Basically its about all the different animals like cows turkeys pigs hogs what they can be used for why growing your own food is good, genetic diversity, seed vaults and then paragraphs of what they do at the authors farm called Dark Creek Farms. Some of the questions in the book include are donkeys good guard animals? what do the words and symbols on your egg carton mean?!? and things along those lines and how kids make that all possible. Overall I would recommend this book.

[Megan Hunt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It talked about kids helping plant and harvest food before winter. I had no idea that all sort of animals could be so helpful around a farm, and I no idea turkey eggs were bigger than chicken eggs that's insane!! In this book it's mostly kids running the show which is great because kids should be involved with the environment. Overall this book was great and I had a fun time reading it

[Ericka · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. I really enjoyed this book it was very detailed explaining what different types of animals needed to stay healthy. My favourite part of the book was chapter four "at work on the farm" and it's my favourite because I think that it was the most detailed chapter because there were interesting animals in that chapter. I also enjoyed chapter 3 on the first page all about the cows, milk and where the milk is stored. I really enjoyed this book it was so exiting.

[Thano · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was very interesting. It is about how kids garden and get the food that goes on our table. I was very impressed by what kids do in poor countries. This book also contains lots of information and fun facts about farm animals and strategies to get food. This book was very knowledge building and I enjoyed it.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book looks at farming across the globe, including animals, seeds, and different jobs and duties. Introduces concepts such as organic food, genetic diversity and rare breeds. Includes an index, but not a glossary, which would have been helpful.

[Erin Reilly-Sanders · Rating 2 out of 5]

See review at http://www.reading.org/general/Public...

[Rani · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kids contribute to the food that the family needs.