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Ready Set Grow!
Combines "top 10" lists introducing easy-to-grow and climate-compatible plants with more than 30 simple gardening projects that are designed for summer vacations, in a step-by-step guide for young gardeners that covers everything from seeding and propagating to pest control and harvesting.
79 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2010
28 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
August 19, 2010
Loaded with gardening projects and information this book will appeal to young gardeners and to anyone wanting to share the joy of gardening with children. The bright illustrations and photographs clearly show what steps to take whether recycling plastic bottles for an irrigation system or using foil containers to make garden decorations.
Although this is a great browsing book, a table of contents and an index assist in finding information. The Table of Contents indicates the time it will take for the projects to come to fruition-Dazzling Decorations will take 1 hour, The Strawberries in a Boot will take 12 weeks.
In the introduction there are projects and information for beginning gardening- “Water, weed and wait”, explains the secrets of gardening. Fun projects include making “Creative containers” and an “Enchanted Path.” Recycling is promoted in nearly every project.
Section two, Flowers and Unusual plants begins with ten quick-to-grow plants, beautiful pictures of each plant and a lot more information than just how long it will take for the plant to grow. There are also fun ideas like growing Marigold Fish, Flowerpot People and Nasturtium Nibbles. Top tips found in colored circles are sprinkled generously throughout the book, suggesting ideas to enhance the experience of the project on the page.
Section three includes child friendly ideas like the Pizza Garden, a small circular garden filled with vegetables and herbs that could top a pizza! Many of the plants can be grown wherever you live.
Dorling Kindersley paid tribute to the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouse supervisors for their help in “arranging” the book. They did a fantastic job of keeping most of the projects within the grasp of a child’s ability, and noting when an adult can help.
Count on this book to inspire old and new gardeners alike!
Although this is a great browsing book, a table of contents and an index assist in finding information. The Table of Contents indicates the time it will take for the projects to come to fruition-Dazzling Decorations will take 1 hour, The Strawberries in a Boot will take 12 weeks.
In the introduction there are projects and information for beginning gardening- “Water, weed and wait”, explains the secrets of gardening. Fun projects include making “Creative containers” and an “Enchanted Path.” Recycling is promoted in nearly every project.
Section two, Flowers and Unusual plants begins with ten quick-to-grow plants, beautiful pictures of each plant and a lot more information than just how long it will take for the plant to grow. There are also fun ideas like growing Marigold Fish, Flowerpot People and Nasturtium Nibbles. Top tips found in colored circles are sprinkled generously throughout the book, suggesting ideas to enhance the experience of the project on the page.
Section three includes child friendly ideas like the Pizza Garden, a small circular garden filled with vegetables and herbs that could top a pizza! Many of the plants can be grown wherever you live.
Dorling Kindersley paid tribute to the Brockwell Park Community Greenhouse supervisors for their help in “arranging” the book. They did a fantastic job of keeping most of the projects within the grasp of a child’s ability, and noting when an adult can help.
Count on this book to inspire old and new gardeners alike!
January 16, 2014
Great instructional book on how to grow stuff in a garden. It doesn't stop there either. It shows you how to make 'floral tepees', 'fairy rings', 'flowerpot people', 'enchanted paths' and all sorts of other exciting things to make the garden a more interesting place to be, play and learn. The book also explains the different types of plants including edibles and instructs on how you could plant a pizza garden or magic beans or crazy kohl rabi as an example. It also includes recipes.
I'm excited by this book and I think pupils in school would be excited too as it could give them the opportunity to influence their own environment whilst learning about the life cycle of plants together with the anticipation of eating them at the end. One of the best things about this book is that it does not assume access to large open spaces and has plenty of activities and ideas where space may not be as readily available. It also has a whole double page dedicated to creative containers so resources should never be a problem either.
This book is written for children with adult participation in mind. It is easy to follow and does cover almost everything in a very practical way. I think it succeeds in delivering curriculum relevant activities and learning for every year at primary level and with spring upon us, I can't wait to try some of the ideas myself.
I'm excited by this book and I think pupils in school would be excited too as it could give them the opportunity to influence their own environment whilst learning about the life cycle of plants together with the anticipation of eating them at the end. One of the best things about this book is that it does not assume access to large open spaces and has plenty of activities and ideas where space may not be as readily available. It also has a whole double page dedicated to creative containers so resources should never be a problem either.
This book is written for children with adult participation in mind. It is easy to follow and does cover almost everything in a very practical way. I think it succeeds in delivering curriculum relevant activities and learning for every year at primary level and with spring upon us, I can't wait to try some of the ideas myself.
July 8, 2019
LOVE this NF how to picture book! Great lists, captivating graphics and photos, excellent and easy to follow directions for all sorts of garden-related activities.
November 6, 2012
Junior Book Critique #16
Ready Set Grow
By: Barbara Lock and Sonia Willock-Moore
1. Junior Book Genre: Informational
2. Brief Summary: Ready Set Grow is overflowing with information about gardening, how plants grow, specific plant species, gardening projects and much more and would be a wonderful addition to the classroom library, especially when learning about plants. From craft projects to the science of gardening this book is absolutely filled with valuable and useful information for students to learn about plants and how they grow! Not only is this book packed with crucial information about plants and gardening it is also has fun and creative activities for students to decorate and accessorize their gardens! Overall, there is no question that Ready Set Grow is a wonderful and informational book for students to enjoy.
3.
A. Area for comment: The best feature of this book is the sheer number of informational pages regarding plant growth, development, gardening, flowers, fruits, vegetables and the needs of plant life. Each page is packed with information, ideas and activities that are age appropriate for school agers while also being fun and exciting to complete!
B. Professional Evaluation: I found this book to be absolutely packed with information, as I had to read it repeatedly just to gain all of the necessary elements in order to make an informed critique. The authors do a wonderful job at incorporating not only information about plants and gardening but also incorporate fun, hands-on activities that students can participate in to get them excited about gardening. From understanding how seeds develop into plants to arts and craft projects for students this book is absolutely one that students will love!
C. Specific Example: There are honestly almost too many examples of the great information and activities that fill this book to list, however, when analyzing the information provided to students the best example can be found on pages 6-7 in which the authors detail the different stages of seed growth and development. These pages provide wonderful information for students and set the stage for the pages to come as the rest of the book is overflowing with information and activities that will excite students!
4. Curriculum Connection: Without question Ready Set Grow has a number of specific curriculum connections that can be made in the modern classroom, especially during a unit about plants, plant development and gardening specifically. The book itself has a plethora of projects and activities that can be done to experiment with gardening different flowers, fruits and vegetables including making a self-irrigation system (pages 10-11), creating one’s own garden stones (pages 16-18) and creating a window box garden (pages 38-39). While these are just a few examples of the many that are featured in the book it absolutely provides evidence as to the book’s many uses in the classroom! The possibilities of curriculum connections and activities are truly endless in regards to this packed informational book!
Ready Set Grow
By: Barbara Lock and Sonia Willock-Moore
1. Junior Book Genre: Informational
2. Brief Summary: Ready Set Grow is overflowing with information about gardening, how plants grow, specific plant species, gardening projects and much more and would be a wonderful addition to the classroom library, especially when learning about plants. From craft projects to the science of gardening this book is absolutely filled with valuable and useful information for students to learn about plants and how they grow! Not only is this book packed with crucial information about plants and gardening it is also has fun and creative activities for students to decorate and accessorize their gardens! Overall, there is no question that Ready Set Grow is a wonderful and informational book for students to enjoy.
3.
A. Area for comment: The best feature of this book is the sheer number of informational pages regarding plant growth, development, gardening, flowers, fruits, vegetables and the needs of plant life. Each page is packed with information, ideas and activities that are age appropriate for school agers while also being fun and exciting to complete!
B. Professional Evaluation: I found this book to be absolutely packed with information, as I had to read it repeatedly just to gain all of the necessary elements in order to make an informed critique. The authors do a wonderful job at incorporating not only information about plants and gardening but also incorporate fun, hands-on activities that students can participate in to get them excited about gardening. From understanding how seeds develop into plants to arts and craft projects for students this book is absolutely one that students will love!
C. Specific Example: There are honestly almost too many examples of the great information and activities that fill this book to list, however, when analyzing the information provided to students the best example can be found on pages 6-7 in which the authors detail the different stages of seed growth and development. These pages provide wonderful information for students and set the stage for the pages to come as the rest of the book is overflowing with information and activities that will excite students!
4. Curriculum Connection: Without question Ready Set Grow has a number of specific curriculum connections that can be made in the modern classroom, especially during a unit about plants, plant development and gardening specifically. The book itself has a plethora of projects and activities that can be done to experiment with gardening different flowers, fruits and vegetables including making a self-irrigation system (pages 10-11), creating one’s own garden stones (pages 16-18) and creating a window box garden (pages 38-39). While these are just a few examples of the many that are featured in the book it absolutely provides evidence as to the book’s many uses in the classroom! The possibilities of curriculum connections and activities are truly endless in regards to this packed informational book!
May 30, 2012
Great book for kids! Has some fun projects, although using aluminum pie pans to cut out shapes was a bit dangerous because the edges are so sharp. I didn't like the bird that was photoshopped onto the windowsill planter photo without feathering or drop shadow, but the other illustrations and book design was cool.
April 1, 2010
I have spring fever, and this book's fun and new take on simple gardening crafts and projects only made it worse! I think I will have to buy a copy of this and try some of these out with Madam for our dream garden.
June 1, 2010
I really liked this book! It shows some really creative gardening ideas such as how to make a pizza garden. It will take patience to actually plant, grow, and harvest but I think worthwhile!
September 24, 2010
Good ideas for gardening projects with children.
September 22, 2011
Loved this adorable book with lots of great gardening ideas. Some of my favorites were the pizza garden, red boot planters for strawberries and the fairy garden.
March 10, 2012
Awesome book for young gardeners! So many fun project ideas. Want to send a copy to all my friends who have kids.
March 16, 2012
Some cute and fun ideas to try
April 15, 2012
Super cute and creative book for beginner gardeners with kids! There are at least three projects in here I want to try! :-)
July 9, 2014
This book is great for those with kids or schools that have gardens. Many easy ideas including several that include recycling.
June 23, 2016
AMAZING healthy recipes and ideas!
March 25, 2010
This is a great gardening resource, even for adults. DK always has such great pictures too.
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews