The Farm that Feeds Us by Nancy Castaldo is an attractive and educational juvenile nonfiction book, full of attractive illustrations and interesting facts about most aspects of farms and farming. When I requested an advanced copy of this title, I expected it to be a short and cute picture book for younger children, but it ended up clocking in 80 pages, with relatively small print and lots of information. Adults could certainly read this to children. Otherwise your target audience would be children with more advanced reading skills, in order to enjoy the writing (although I think the illustrations would charm even children who don't read yet.).

The author explains the annual cycle of the farm, starting with spring planting and honey bees and going through to bedding down for winter and preparing for the following year. I appreciated that so much emphasis was put on genetic diversity, heirloom seed varieties and livestock breeds, and environmental sustainability. I especially enjoyed the illustrative samplings of those heirloom plants and breeds, including pigs, sheep, cows, apples, and pumpkins, among others, and an introduction to various pollinators. This is a good way to affirm with children that local and organic products, when possible, are healthier choices. On the reverse, if that's not something with which you want your child indoctrinated, perhaps choose a book that is less heavy handed.

The art seems to seek to be diverse--most pages with multiple humans depicted will include at least one person of color. But the primary characters on each page tend to be white, with clear gender binaries and "traditional" family structures, so I was a little disappointed by that. I did appreciate that the recurring white female character was referred to as "the farmer" at one point, and not simply dismissed as a farmer's wife, and that all genders depicted were mostly shown sharing the work of the farm equally. My only other quibble, aside from fresh spinach being referred to as crunchy (I don't think of fresh spinach as crunchy, but maybe that's just me.), was that, despite so many other terms being carefully explained to the reader, the term "manure" is brought up on the farm equipment page, because of a manure spreader, but never explained. I personally am far too well acquainted with the concept of manure, having grown up on a farm myself, but for children that are unfamiliar with farming in general, there should really be an additional explanation that manure means livestock poop, which works as an effective natural fertilizer for crops.

Overall, though, #TheFarmThatFeedsUs is a lovely book about farming great for sharing with young readers in your life. Thank you to #NetGalley and Quarto Publishing for letting me read an #advancedcopy of this lovely book in exchange for an honest review.

A lovely book about an idealistic organic family farm. The publisher is based in England, and perhaps small family farms are more utopic in Europe like the one in this book, but I don't think it's the norm in the U.S. (though I sincerely hope that will change and become more prevalent). Having said that, this book is a gorgeous introduction to small scale organic farming for children, showing the farm throughout the year, discussing not just crops and livestock, but also things like crop rotation, the importance of pollinators, the cycle of farm to table, while skipping over some of the harsher realities- the book mentions animals being raised for meat, but doesn't go any further into how they become meat, for example. Farmers markets are covered and visiting them encouraged, and hopefully this will inspire the next generation into thinking locally when it comes to food. The illustrations are bright and warm, and have a cozy, inviting feel to them.

#TheFarmThatFeedsUs #NetGalley

I think of this book as a more modern, more factual version of The Oxcart Man. It takes us through the broad strokes of a small farm throughout the year. We see planting, field maintenance and harvest, crop rotation, methods of organic plant care, and the care of various animals. There are a few notable holes but it's still pretty interesting, especially for a kids how has little experience with farms.

Cheerful illustrations accompany this appealing informational book about farm-life. A broad variety of crops, animals, equipment, seasonal tasks and the important relationship between farms and the broader community are considered. Of particular interest are some topics rarely considered in similar books. Kids will enjoy learning about the many varieties of chickens, pigs, sheep, apples and pumpkins that are illustrated in sidebars with clear explanations. Regrettably, topic of eggs needing to be "fertilized to become chicks" is treated evasively—though addressing a young audience, the author might have given some sort of age-appropriate definition. Overall, however, this is a very enjoyable, fact-filled book most suitable in a time when there's so much emphasis on farm-to-table meals and support for local farms and farmers' markets.

Organized by the seasons, starting with spring,  young readers will explore the activities that takes place on a farm over the course of the year.  For example, in the spring, there are  "At the Orchard" and "Harvesting Early Spring Crops" sections, while summer has "Corn Planting and Harvesting." along with "Heading to the Country Fair."  Among the fall sections are "Harvesting Pumpkins and Squash" and "Putting the Farm to Sleep" and for winter there are "Winter Maintenance" and "At the Farmer's Market."  (Note there are many additional sections as well.)

The book opens with an introduction to the many types of farms that exist, everything from dairy to poultry to sheep and then to orchards and crops. Readers will see and learn about everything from chickens to bees. There are vehicles and tools and so much more.  There is even a recipe for bread. 


I truly loved the idyllic illustrations that are found throughout the book.  They made me wish desperately to be on that farm.  I found this book to be delightful and engaging.


Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

This bright and clean picture book gives elementary aged children an introduction to different farms and what they produce.

Though this is for young children, it is idealized and frankly unrealistic. The modern farm looks nothing like the one pictured here. If the goal is for children to understand that food isn't magic and doesn't just appear at the grocery store, it would be beneficial for them to know, for example, that the meat they eat doesn't come from smiling animals who grazed happily until they died of old age.

This is quite an old-school representation of a farm, with people hand-picking and planting and very few machines. An attempt at balance between attempting to put farms in a positive light and showing the reality of farm work would've served readers better.

A lovely detailed book on farm life. My kids and I read it in small chunks since they didn't quite have the attention span for this amount of knowledge in one sitting.

I received an advanced reader copy of this book to read in exchange for an honest review via netgalley and the publishers.

This is a delightful picture book about the workings of a farm and the daily life of a running farm too. There is loads of information that is interesting and easy to understand for children and even has a glossary at the back for reference if it is needed.
We really enjoyed this book and my little one had lots of questions as we read it too.

This a wonderful informational book all about farming. It goes into detail on different types of farms, tools used, distribution and much more. This is geared towards older kids as it has a lot of words per page but can easily be summarized to inform younger kids as well.

This book follows a family living on a farm throughout four seasons. The story showcases the family dealing with animals (chickens, horses, pigs), farm equipment, planting seeds, harvesting, pests and more, including their relationship with the community. As an educator, I absolutely loved this book. I thought it was set up in a straightforward and easy to follow manner. The content page was very helpful. This book can be adapted and used in the classroom in multiple ways. It can be used as a read-aloud, for students to look through themselves and read, a take home book for parents/guardians to read with the students or incorporated into the curriculum. The illustrations are vibrant and eye-catching, they support the information in a cohesive way. I think the information was presented in short paragraphs that are easy to understand and remain exciting. One aspect that was very beneficial was the times the community was mentioned, as it is important that students understand the importance of supporting farms, but also how they are able to engage with farms. This book could even inspire a field trip to a farm. Following the seasons was very smart as it shows that there is always something to do on the farm. It was great how the book discusses important topics such as diversity, and truly showcases how every aspect of the farm works in tandem with every other aspect. Students can relate to many aspects of this book, including a recipe and a glossary was an awesome idea. Highly recommend!

#TheFarmThatFeedsUs #NetGalley

An idea whose time has come!! In 80 pages this book which will come out in May and is easily understood by preschoolers (although written for grades 2-5) offers valuable information for all ages. It covers innumerable aspects of life on the farm. It offers brief snippets of information that can be read straight through or in snippets. It answers many questions that need to be asked. Where does food come from? What is it like to be a farmer? What happens on a farm throughout the year? We are introduced to many different animals that are raised and why they are raised, the wide varieties of crops that can be grown at different times of the year, milking cows, going to a county fair, raising bees, seed shopping , putting the fields to sheep, a variety of farm equipment and how it is maintained.
I would strongly recommend this book to those who wish to introduce their children to farmers, and farming, an essential part of our future. I have already pre ordered this book for a friend.

Highly highly recommend this book to all the teachers and homeschooling parents.This book is thorough and very informative .Colorful illustrations make it fun to read .All your farm related age appropriate queries are well answered.

This beautifully illustrated book describes how the work on a family farm changes as it moves through the seasons. More than just a discussion of the work required, this book also explains many things about how food is grown, the decisions that are made, the equipment needed, the effects of seasonal changes on the farm, the care of plants and animals, harvesting, and more. Above all, the farm-to-table relationship is celebrated. A beautifully designed book, and also one that is full of information.

This is a charming picture book that presents a bit of a fantasy version of a modern family farm. I live in farm country and family farms are not the way they used to be. This book is specifically about small, sustainable organic farms but it doesn't make that as clear as it might, so kids are likely to think that most family farms are run with this animal-friendly, environment-friendly, small scale, happy ethic. There's a reason the agriculture lobby has made it illegal to even take pictures of farms in some states ("ag-gag" laws prohibit even taking a picture from the road and make it a crime for whistleblowers to record animal abuse). It's often pretty horrifying. And even my friends who run a dairy farm don't have some sort of milking machine hooked up with the cow happily grazing in the grass the way the picture shows. That's just not a thing that I've ever known of anyway. The chicken farms on small family farms around here are small metal buildings with a big fan on one end and a silo going into it on the other, crammed with thousands of chickens who have extremely short lives. There are rows of windows that are propped open sometimes in the summer when it gets extremely hot but you would never even know there were chickens there. I think their lifespan is about 2-3 months in there before they're loaded onto semi trucks for butchering and the next batch is brought in. Yes, it's a "small family farm" but it doesn't look like the happy chickens in this book.

There are organic farmers who do raise their produce and livestock in these ways and it's wonderful. They are modern heroes and our system makes it enormously hard for them to do what they do. I wish this book made it more clear that most modern farms do not look anything like these pictures (even the small family farms) and gave information on how to find and support those farmers. Otherwise, it just feels a bit like misinformation, though it is charming misinformation that is much more pleasant than the real picture.

Note that I still gave the book a very high rating (4 stars for "really liked it") and do recommend it, just with that caveat.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for the purpose of review.

This book is delightful on all levels. The illustrations are beautiful and just perusing the art alone would be enough to fall in love with this book. The writing is informative and accessible, a mix of farming logistics and “fun facts” sure to interest readers of all ages. Readers can really utilize this information across a range of ages and reading levels. The glossary at the end also adds a great jumping off point for more advanced readers who want to dig a little deeper into the material. The rural to semi-rural population my library serves would love this book since it looks just like us, while areas with less exposure to farming would find this to be a highly enticing introduction to the topic. Learning where our food comes from is always an eye opening experience! This book would be an excellent addition to any children’s section.

Comprehensive and easy to follow information about life on a farm. The illustrations are warm and friendly. It even includes a handy glossary for quick reference. Super educational resource in a simple, yet detailed format.