“There is nothing quite like the look on a child’s face when she picks the very first tomato she’s ever grown. It’s plump and red, and sure to be juicy, and it’s all hers.“

Mel Bartholomew adapted his classic Square Foot Gardening series for kids. You might recognize his name from the PBS series or one of his other books, he’s a legend in the modern farming movement. In SFG with Kids, Mel taps into the well-known truth that kids love dirt. He lays out the entire process of planning, designing, building and decorating the containers. Then he suggests what kinds of things you should grow in the garden and how to actually grow them. The book is loaded with teachable moments in science, math, and self-sufficiency.

Bartholomew is riding the wave of the DIY urban farm movement (he had a lot to do with its creation). I like instructional books to have color photos so I know I’m on the right path and this books is full of them. SFG is broken up into easily digestible chunks that should help get your family into the garden. I plan on building some next spring and I’m going to use this book to do it.