From Plant to Plate

[annieb123]

Originally posted on my blog Nonstop Reader.

From Plant to Plate is a colorful and well written gardening/cooking guide for young readers written by Darryl Gadzekpo & Ella Philips. Released 21st May 2024 by Penguin Random House on their DK imprint, it's 224 pages and is available in hardcover and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. The links in the ebook format are super useful and make the book a joy to use.

There are lots of benefits which come from helping young people to gain skills by learning how to garden and learn how to cook for themselves and others. Self-sufficiency, exercise, learning about ecology and the interdependence of all life on the planet, increasing food security, physical and mental benefits, it's a long list. This book is an appealing and *cool* way to help kids find out they enjoy being outdoors and gardening and the coordinating included recipes will allow readers to see how plants actually turn into healthy nutritious food.

The authors do a good job of covering the basics, some safety rules for both the garden and the kitchen. The introduction also gives some colorful, relevant, and basic info about how food "powers up" the body and how high quality food does its job of helping people grow and function. The language is completely age appropriate and there aren't any graphic illustrations. The illustrations are drawn in bright simple colors and the cutaways show a smiling cartoon mouth, stomach, and intestines. 

The authors have kept the info limited and accessible; the recipes are simple and kid-friendly (lasagne, muffins, soup, frittatas, etc) and the vegetables are generally ones which everyone loves (tomatoes, cucumbers, corn, leafy greens, and a few others). 

There are some inset photos with the authors and their kids doing gardening tasks which are appealing and friendly (they look wholesome, fun, and happy). They've also included photo tutorials and serving suggestions for the recipes which are beautifully styled, simple and appetizing. Recipes include a short introduction/background, ingredients in a bullet list format, and step-by-step cooking directions. Ingredient measures are given in imperial (American) units. Non-homegrown ingredients will be available in most kitchens in North America without needing any sort of specialist suppliers.

Five stars. This would be an excellent choice for public or school library acquisition, school gardening groups, allotments, activity groups, scouting, home use, gift giving, or similar uses.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.