Anywhere Farm

My preK classes love this book every year when we begin our Gardening study. They love the rhyming words and the illustrations and it really inspires us to get creative in our choice of planting space and containers.

Such a beautiful book.

My pre k class loved this book!

All you need to create a farm anywhere is soil, sunshine, water, and a seed. Which means you can make a farm just about anywhere! The book shows children and adults working together to make a garden in an empty lot. They find things in the garbage to use as pots and places for soil. The book also shows the kind of insects and animals that you might find in an urban garden, including neighbors who are excited by the green changes.Root writes with a lovely warm tone, inviting readers along on this gardening adventure. The use of an urban setting is great to see in a picture book, especially showing children the creation of the space from the empty lot into a green center of activity. Root uses repetition and rhymes, creating a picture book that is a joy to share aloud. There is a wonderful playful nature about the book, the garden and the bounty.Karas always creates a delightful feel in the picture books he illustrates. The children he shows are of various races and backgrounds. He shows a vibrant urban setting, filled with activity and energy. It’s just the sort of place that feels like something could happen, and here we get to see it from the ground up, literally.A strong addition to gardening picture books, this is a perfect read aloud for spring. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

This book arrived in our library just in time for Spring story times. It is a spirited invitation to plant things and had my story time listeners chuckling over seeds planted in trumpets, and imagining what they might plant in their own gardens. The text travels along at a speedy pace, asking readers what they would plant in their Anywhere Farm, where they would have it, and who might come visit. Things end on a hopeful, fun note when the author imagines what would happen if everyone planted an Anywhere Farm. Of course then we would have an Everywhere Farm!The excellent rhyming makes this a book that's just as much fun to read as it is to listen to. Add in illustrations that strike the perfect balance between realism and whimsy and you get an excellent book for Spring and a must have for the classroom or for story time.

Rhyming text encourages readers that an anywhere can sprout up anywhere, grow a variety of plants, and just might revolutionize a neighborhood.I love this well-rhymed encouragement that anyone has a spot to grow a little something. The illustrations depict people in an inner city environment who find all sorts of creative spots to grow plants. Read this one with <i>The Curious Garden</i> by Brown and <i>The Gardener</i> by Stewart for some great read alikes that encourage urban gardening.

We got this book from our library. My 18 month old was captivated, and my 5 year old loved it too! I will be buying this one, and a second copy for a friend, who I know would love it for her girls!

Another wonderful picture book by Phyllis Root! The story is interesting, and the rhythm and rhyme are engaging, and the illustrations complement the text perfectly. Bravo. My nephews, ages 8 and 5, live in a big city, and they love the idea of growing their own little "farm."

Cute book, good idea. Easy to read Came on time

This is a lovely book with a great message about gardening in cities. I loved the illustrations and the words but it was a bit disappointed because the front cover misled me into thinking that there would be a character who was a wheelchair user. In fact the only illustrations of the wheelchair user are on the front cover and in one other illustration where he’s sitting off to the side. It’s a missed opportunity not having the wheelchair user involved in the action by actually doing some planting which could have been easily done. Children with disabilities need role models and to see characters in books who are just like them and it would have been wonderful to demonstrate to children and adults with physical and / or learning disabilities that gardening is for them too.