Stanley Jr. Gardening is Awesome is a colorful, appealing, and accessible guide for young gardeners (and their families) introducing useful and fun projects and concepts. Due out 9th March 2021 from Quarto on their Cool Springs Press imprint, it's 112 pages and will be available in flexi-bound and ebook formats.

This is a book stuffed full of useful and educational tutorials written in simple-to-understand language. The book's tutorials are arranged thematically: essentials (what is a plant, what are climate and weather, soil, water), choosing plants (veggies, fruits, flowers, trees, shrubs), how-to (improve soil, compost, start plants, grow seedlings, control pests/diseases), building beds, containers, and raised beds. The book also includes an index to find information quickly and conveniently.

Quarto's books are well known for accessible and appealing graphics and photography and this book is no exception. The photographic tutorials are well arranged and easy to understand with clear photos and diagrams. The models pictured throughout are representative and inclusive, both boys and girls of multiple ethnicities (representation is important).

I enjoyed this one a lot. Recommended for public/school library acquisition, community gardening groups, activity groups, gifting, or the home library. Well done. Five stars.

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

I found this book to be so helpful! Homesteading and becoming more self sustaining is a big interest of mine so I'll take what I learned from this book and it'll go a long way!

This isn't my favorite gardening book for kids. It's very text-heavy and would be a lot of reading for even adults. I also wish they showed a photo of every plant they recommend. There are lots of top ten lists and then they show around 4 of the plants in the list. I'm of the belief that garden books need as many photos as possible (kind of the way you want a picture of every recipe if you can in a cookbook or you're not likely to want to make it). The methods are very 20th century, when there are much better how-to books these days that use regenerative agriculture methods and easier gardening techniques (lasagna gardens, no-till, cover crops, rain gardens, permaculture, etc.). The closest they came to more modern concepts like these are the square foot gardening plan and a fake keyhole garden (which eliminates some of the things that make keyhole gardens so brilliant like different levels for plants with different water needs). It's still brightly illustrated and full of good info though, with a few basic projects for young woodworkers to boot.

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

I'm not gonna lie, this is now one of my favourite beginner gardening books! It is ridiculously helpful with tips on annuals, perennials, how to build different apparatuses for your garden and more. It's a real treat for those of us who want to find a helpful yet fun and colourful gardening book. It might be marketed towards children, but I think adults seeking a bit of a fun learn to garden book will be able to enjoy it as much (if not more!).

Overall, this is a great non-fiction book to learn the basics of gardening!

Four out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group for providing me a free copy of this book in exchange of an honest review.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to gardening. Included are important aspects that will help children trying to garden for the first time, or parents trying to work with young children to teach them about gardens. In addition, educational charts, definitions, and information about things from companion gardening to soil types are included. This is a full-fledged gardening how-to. Students can learn about growing food (vegetables and fruit) or flowers. Every page is filled with attractive, full-color images that only increase interest in the reading.
I would recommend this book to librarians or families. It would be a great companion to a gardening program.
One of my favorite memories is planting flowers or plants with my children. This book is a memory maker, highly recommend.