Compost: A Family Guide to Making Soil from Scraps

by Ben Raskin

Set your family on the path to a planet-friendly lifestyle with this fun guide to compost--what it is, how to make it, how to maintain it.  Includes games, stickers, and more!

Teach your kids that composting is fun with this funky guide that takes you from the nitty-gritty of compost composition and care to Worms and Ladders, a fresh take on a traditional board game. Find out the rules for setting up your very own Worm Lovers' Society, learn all about the garden-to-plate cycle together, and get your family's feet firmly set on the road to a planet-friendly lifestyle. Includes information on both kitchen and garden composting.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction, Childrens, Science, Family

62 pages, Hardcover

First published March 11, 2014

Reviews

[Brittany · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little too dry for a kid unless they're already into composting

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a great starter guide for kids interested in composting! Very colorful and funny with the worms and their dialog boxes. The only thing I didn't like is that it has a lot of pages that are meant to rip out and be interactive, which doesn't really lend itself to re-reads, though the interactive element was well-intended.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is so interactive and chock-full of stickers, interactive wheels, fold-out charts, and spots for notes and lists...you should probably buy your own copy for your family if you discover how useful this guide to compost is. And when you're finished with it, it is (of course) compostable itself.

[Angela · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book to get the whole family learning about composting

[Cadie Holmes · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a helpful book. I have very little understanding of science and this helped break it down for me. Easy read.

[Lkking · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great how-to book for the entire family, including hands on activities, a worm ID guide, what and how to compost and much more.

[Scott · Rating 3 out of 5]

A short, easy read. Not much new information but a few helpful nuggets (did you know urine is a good source of nitrogen?). Good pictures for the kids.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

there are stickers. very good. i hope i can do it.

[Deidra Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clear and approachable

[Michelle Brandstetter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ben Raskin has put together an excellent, easy to understand, little resource for kids and adults alike! I confess, I had gotten myself excited about the idea of composting a couple of years ago, purchased a bin, and proceeded to put all compostable items within. It went through a couple of different stages, none of which were the way I had pictured it. After reading this book, I'm willing to give it another go [because I now know exactly what I did wrong]!

[T Crockett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This would be a great book to use with elementary school kids. As an adult I really liked the look of the book, Roost Books always look great and feel substantial. The section on the different types of worms was really interesting and something I'd never given thought to before.