Super sweet book full of summer fun for all ages! From refreshing recipes like water melon popsicles to crafts that give back to nature (like creating a big hotel), this book inspires reusing, recycling, and creative thinking in its activities. Definitely grab it for the summer now!

School's almost out for the summer? How long before your kids are bored? Out of ideas to keep them busy and, hopefully, learning? This book is for you.

I love these bright, colorful books. To be honest, they had me from the beginning with their comment "We print our books on trash." What a delight to see a book publisher not just mouth environmental concerns but actually take steps to recycle and reuse. Many of the ideas in the book focus on the same idea, recycling a tin can into a fun, unique water sprinkler, for instance, or how to save the seeds from a tomato you eat to plant. All ideas are delightfully illustrated and feature a boy and girl of different races having fun together. There's even a cute pup that pops up here and there.

One of the things I particularly liked, well, once I tired of enjoying the artwork, was that the author doesn't just tell you that you should recycle, she explains what that means. All too often adults assume children understand, so these simple definitions were a nice touch. In addition, materials needed for each activity are nicely set apart from the directions, ensuring children won't get halfway through an activity and realize they've forgotten something. The former teacher in me appreciated that.

What was my favorite activity? That's a tough question because they all sounded interesting and could easily be expanded upon or tweaked. I definitely found the idea of "companion planting" intriguing, maybe because I tend to be hopeless at growing things. Cooperation and working together is apparently as important in the plant world as the human world and certain plants help nourish and protect each other. Corn, squash, and beans are the examples given here but it might be interesting for older children to research what other plants grow well together, not via books but by talking to experienced growers, another possible expansion of the basic idea. Interviewing and formulating good questions would be an expanded benefit, for instance, for this and some of the other ideas. It even reminds us to stay hydrated, which is important to all, people, animals, and plants.

That said, the kid in me wanted to run right out and try to make a bubble wand and blow some bubbles. What kid, heck, adult, doesn't enjoy bubbles? The other idea that appealed to me because it could be made so special was how to create a unique, possible memorable picnic blanket. I could envision that being pulled out year after year and added to by children and later shared with their own children as a sort of memory blanket. Yep, lots of fun ideas inside this adorable little treasury of ideas to keep our children busy and making memories.

Thanks #NetGalley and #QuartoPublishingGroup - #IvyKids for this fun book of ideas. Living in Alaska where the Summer Solstice is basically a day of endless daylight, that cake sounds appetizing.

This book is another great addition to a wonderful series for young children who enjoy the outdoors. It provides fun useful information that will have kids learning without even knowing it.

Before any activity is presented it already explains the importance of protecting our environment. This educational and informative book is printed on recycled paper with a low carbon footprint (printed in the USA).
I love the design of the pages. They are so inviting with friendly step-by-step instructions. The activities start simple from how to make a tomato salad then progress to crafts, baking, it even made a fun picnic blanket. I like that they are easy to make and accessible (with the right supplies).
It is a discovery book for children (activities are not overwhelming) and not an advanced gardening book. The activities are appealing even to me as an adult I find this book very cozy and learned a few things I didn't know about, like for instance, how to plant a "three sisters" garden.

My fav activities (loved most of them): how to build a bug hotel. Usually, books display bird feeders but love this one that went for insects. Found this quite original.
Other highlights are - How to make: lemon sugar hand scrub... shampoo and a cool picnic blanket.

I really enjoy the cute layout of the book, it is fun and engaging. The illustrations are adorable, and eye catching.

The recipes and activities included are nice and simple, whilst giving a preschooler or slightly older child the chance to get a sense of independence as they do them, with a bit of adult supervision of course.

There are some lovely facts included such as companion planting and flowers that bees love.

Our favourite has to be the Lemon sugar scrub, it was easy to make and smells lovely.


Thank you Netgallery and Quattro Publishing for the ARC for free in exchange for an honest review.

I love this summer guide! The illustrations are beautiful and the ideas and recipes are very practical. As a mom, this is a handy thing to have to read with my kid and get outside this summer! Thank you for this copy netgalley!

This is such a fun and resourceful book for your little homesteaders. Filled with easy to make recipes, simple crafts and enjoyable activities for the whole family with items and foods grown or found on your homestead! This will be a book we pull out each summer for fun in the sun.

I received an ARC of, Little Homesteader: A Summer Treasury of Recipes, Crafts and Wisdom, by Angela Ferraro-Fanning. I love these Little Homestead books. There are great recipes and outdoor activities for families. From baking a summer solstice cake, to picking fruit and veggies, there is fun for the whole family.

Adults, would you like to offer a child whom you know some fun that has nothing to do with screens? I hope so and, if that is the case, this charmingly illustrated book will be a most welcome resource.

As the authors note summer is the perfect time to get outside. They observe that kids can go on picnics, observe wildlife, make Popsicles, do crafts and more. This book will help to make all of these activities possible. Enjoy tomatoes, watch bees, have fun with bubble wands or build a bug hotel. Kids may not want to come back inside!

Many thanks to Quarto-Ivy Kids and NetGalley for this seasonal title. All opinions are my own.

This is a lovely little book of nature activities, aimed at younger children (perhaps more primary school age). It has bright, vintage-style cartoons illustrations and simple text and I can imagine my six year old would love to flick through to find ideas of things to do over the summer holidays!

The book describes easy crops to grow in the garden and recommends some good varieties to use, as well as which plants compliment each other. It then provides some recipes to try with the produce (eg. tomato salad and watermelon popscicles) as well as other picnic treats, such as honey iced tea and solstice cake. It describes some common bugs in the garden and explains how to build a bug hotel. You can also find information on making a hand scrub or shampoo with natural ingredients

Some of the activities may not work so well in the UK as in the US ( I'm not sure our weather is warm enough to grow watermelons or make sundried tomatoes!). However this has given my lots of inspiration! This would make a lovely gift for a child!

Kudos to the Publishing team for such a fun, easy-to-follow fun healthy recipes for the summer!

Thank you, Quarto Publishing Group Ivy Kids, for the advance reading copy.

The book is so much fun! The kids will get to learn a lot from this one. Easy-to-do, easy-to-follow crafts and recipes with the common ingredients that would be available during summer the book is THE summer vacation vibes in FULL!

Amazing illustrations too!

Fantastic collection of recipes and hands-on crafts for littles. A bit too immature for my teens, but would be great for elementary and preschool students! (And my teens enjoyed making the summer cake, too.)

Little Homesteader is a delightful treasury of activities and information perfect for summer! Each page has adorable illustrations with activities, recipes, and crafts. There are sections about vegetable gardening, bugs, and other topics. I would recommend this for early elementary school aged children who have access to a backyard or nearby woods. This would make a wonderful gift!

Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing this ARC.