What do you think?
Rate this book
Making Peas
How do you solve a problem like Clark Whittle?
From the moment Clark shows up in her first grade class, Gertie knows he's going to be trouble. Clark doesn't follow any of the rules. He calls her Gertrude the Rude and gets her blamed for things that aren't even her fault. Then he starts blowing spit wads at her. How do you fight back against someone like that without breaking the rules yourself?
About the Series
Gertie Green (you’d better not call her Gertrude!) is a feisty first-grader with the spunk of Junie B. and the literal mind of Amelia Bedelia. She's an outdoor kid who enjoys fresh air, gardens, and dirt. Whether she's planting seeds or digging them back up, trying out a new purple veggie or rage gardening (Gertie-style), one thing you can be sure of is that she's going to solve her problem with the help of whatever she happens to be growing at the time. Each book features a different vegetable as a key part of the story and includes how-to-grow information for young gardeners.
"An engaging interpersonal drama for early elementary readers." ~ Kirkus Reviews
" Making Peas... does an excellent job of juxtaposing growing peas with fostering better approaches to life. It's especially recommended for collections looking to instill lessons about the value of growing food and handling challenging peer relationships by making better choices." ~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"Allows young readers to see themselves as confident people and helps them to discover their uniqueness and strength." ~ Kidliomag, A Kids Magazine
From the moment Clark shows up in her first grade class, Gertie knows he's going to be trouble. Clark doesn't follow any of the rules. He calls her Gertrude the Rude and gets her blamed for things that aren't even her fault. Then he starts blowing spit wads at her. How do you fight back against someone like that without breaking the rules yourself?
About the Series
Gertie Green (you’d better not call her Gertrude!) is a feisty first-grader with the spunk of Junie B. and the literal mind of Amelia Bedelia. She's an outdoor kid who enjoys fresh air, gardens, and dirt. Whether she's planting seeds or digging them back up, trying out a new purple veggie or rage gardening (Gertie-style), one thing you can be sure of is that she's going to solve her problem with the help of whatever she happens to be growing at the time. Each book features a different vegetable as a key part of the story and includes how-to-grow information for young gardeners.
"An engaging interpersonal drama for early elementary readers." ~ Kirkus Reviews
" Making Peas... does an excellent job of juxtaposing growing peas with fostering better approaches to life. It's especially recommended for collections looking to instill lessons about the value of growing food and handling challenging peer relationships by making better choices." ~ D. Donovan, Senior Reviewer, Midwest Book Review
"Allows young readers to see themselves as confident people and helps them to discover their uniqueness and strength." ~ Kidliomag, A Kids Magazine
Paperback
Published October 1, 2024
5 people are currently reading
1 person want to read
About the author
S.M.R. Saia
21 books11 followersS.M.R. Saia is the author of two book series for children: the Little Ant Books (read aloud stories for ages 3 to 5) and the Gertie in the Garden books (garden-themed early reader chapter books for ages 6 to 9). Her professional experience in the book world includes owning a corporate book fair business and freelancing as a self-publishing coach. She has a B.A. in English from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in Liberal Arts from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland. For the past several years she has worked developing English Language Arts Worksheets for K – 12, using creative strategies to present, teach, and provide students with an opportunity to practice grade-appropriate Language Arts concepts and skills.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
June 29, 2023
This book was such a good one to start my day with! I laughed so hard at so many points, which I definitely did not expect! It’s been a while since I’ve read any children’s literature, but this book has absolutely reminded me why I used to love it and has re-sparked my interest in the genre! The writing was witty, the characters were relatble, and the illustrations were beautiful.
“‘A sight word is a word that doesn’t follow the rules,’ Mrs Standish says. ‘Clark’s a sight word,’ I blurt out. Then I start to giggle. Mrs. Standish squeezes her eyes, which means she is mad.”
I really loved that this book took me right back to elementary school and put me in the shoes of little Gertie! I shared in her triumphs and frustrations, and more than once I exclaimed aloud, “Why are boys so mean?!” Seriously, 7-year-old Renae came out and popped off a lot while reading about troublesome little Clark performing his nonsensical boyish antics. Ugh, and of course the teacher was just as oblivious to said antics as my teacher seemed to be at that age. It was a thoroughly relatable story!
“‘Grownups are always talking about peas! Grandma Trudy is always wondering if there’s ever going to be any world peas. Daddy says that the people at work never give him any peas… Mom always asks for peas and quiet, but she never gets up to make any…”
In addition to the story being great, this book also had an educational element to it that I loved. Young readers will learn tons of new words along with Gertie, presented in a very organic way that adds to the story while adding to the knowledge base of the audience. They will also learn valuable lessons about being sneaky, dealing with bullying behavior, and understanding that adults often say things that don’t make sense when taken literally.
My only complaint is that I didn’t find this book sooner! I would’ve absolutely read it to my little brothers when they were in the right age range, though I’m afraid they’ve grown out of it now. But if you’ve got youngsters at home, or you yourself are young at heart and enjoy a laugh-out-loud children's book, then I definitely recommend Making Peas!
I received a digital copy of this book for free from the author. I am writing this honest review voluntarily.
“‘A sight word is a word that doesn’t follow the rules,’ Mrs Standish says. ‘Clark’s a sight word,’ I blurt out. Then I start to giggle. Mrs. Standish squeezes her eyes, which means she is mad.”
I really loved that this book took me right back to elementary school and put me in the shoes of little Gertie! I shared in her triumphs and frustrations, and more than once I exclaimed aloud, “Why are boys so mean?!” Seriously, 7-year-old Renae came out and popped off a lot while reading about troublesome little Clark performing his nonsensical boyish antics. Ugh, and of course the teacher was just as oblivious to said antics as my teacher seemed to be at that age. It was a thoroughly relatable story!
“‘Grownups are always talking about peas! Grandma Trudy is always wondering if there’s ever going to be any world peas. Daddy says that the people at work never give him any peas… Mom always asks for peas and quiet, but she never gets up to make any…”
In addition to the story being great, this book also had an educational element to it that I loved. Young readers will learn tons of new words along with Gertie, presented in a very organic way that adds to the story while adding to the knowledge base of the audience. They will also learn valuable lessons about being sneaky, dealing with bullying behavior, and understanding that adults often say things that don’t make sense when taken literally.
My only complaint is that I didn’t find this book sooner! I would’ve absolutely read it to my little brothers when they were in the right age range, though I’m afraid they’ve grown out of it now. But if you’ve got youngsters at home, or you yourself are young at heart and enjoy a laugh-out-loud children's book, then I definitely recommend Making Peas!
I received a digital copy of this book for free from the author. I am writing this honest review voluntarily.
January 3, 2022
Enjoyable children's book
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews