One Good Apple: Growing Our Food for the Sake of the Earth [Hardcover]

Catherine Paladino (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

Every day some of the most toxic poisons - poisons that eventually effect all life on earth - are sprayed on the foods we eat: apples, peaches, corn, grapes, and strawberries, to name a few. In eloquent words and pictures, One Good Apple makes a cogent, urgent case for healthier agricultural practices, exploring with precision and care the destructiveness of pesticides and fertilizers to everything from the smallest organisms to the water we drink. The author shows how, in our attempt to control nature, we are growing food that harms not only us but also the very balance of nature, a balance we need to better understand and protect. Here is a book to empower our next generation of gardeners and farmers by presenting a way of growing good food that nourishes not only us, but the earth as well.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-8-This attractive and informative photo-essay offers a clear introduction to the advantages and methods of organic farming. Reminding her readers of Rachel Carson's expectation that people should be "secure against lethal poisons," Paladino describes the range and effects of pesticide use in this country; the government response; and the alternatives available through organic farming, Community Supported Agriculture, and seed-saving organizations. Her information is well organized and her message is straightforward and accessible. Full-color photographs show the range of produce grown in the United States, including numerous varieties of apples and tomatoes; methods of pesticide application; animals and insects that inhabit gardens and farms; and, most importantly, children engaged in farming activities. The evocative images include a photo of a small boy holding a kestrel chick, a girl tasting wood sorrel, and a Hopi grandmother with her hands full of colored corncobs. The author offers suggestions for "What you can do to help grow good food for the sake of the earth" and provides addresses for further information. The extensive bibliography demonstrates the breadth of her research. This is nonfiction writing at its best.
Kathleen Isaacs, Edmund Burke School, Washington, DC
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Grade 4-8-An alarming account of the environmental and health concerns associated with pesticides, tempered by hope for the future through organic farming. Outstanding full-color photos illustrate this compelling expos?.
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 48 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (March 26, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395850096
• ISBN-13: 978-0395850091
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,190,565 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Richie's Picks: ONE GOOD APPLE, November 23, 2007

By 

Richie Partington "Richie's Picks" (Sebastopol, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: One Good Apple: Growing Our Food for the Sake of the Earth (Hardcover)

The history of pesticide use in the US, the current dangers from pesticides to consumers and farm workers (and their families), and the alternatives to chemical agriculture are explained at a level easily understood by middle school students. Many a reader will be thinking about what he or she is eating long after consuming this book.

0 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Perpetuates the DDT Myth, July 11, 2006

By 

Daniel J. Knight "Hate evil, love good, maint... (Albuquerque, NM) - See all my reviews

This review is from: One Good Apple: Growing Our Food for the Sake of the Earth (Hardcover)

This book, sadly, perpetuates the myth that DDT is harmful. This book should not be bought and is hardly worth reading. It seems to be made for children, as there is not much content. I did see some interesting varieties of apples and tomatoes in the book, but that hardly makes it worth buying.