Our Community Garden (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "I'm Audrey Aubergine..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 3–Audrey lives in San Francisco, where she and her friends have plots in a community garden. They plant, weed, and water to raise their favorite vegetables: Tomas grows tomatillos for salsa, Alison nurtures asparagus beans for a stir-fry with tofu, and Audrey cultivates eggplants. After the harvest, the children make delicious dishes from their produce and the community gathers for a feast. Pollak's quirky, vibrant artwork adds pizzazz to this straightforward story. Some illustrations depict gardening tools or insects, while others use a more whimsical, folk-art style. A girl peers through stalks of asparagus taller than she is. Insects as large as gliders hover above children counting them. The flat perspective and boldly colored backgrounds add to the visual appeal. Compared with the plants and insects, the human faces have a bland, almost cookie-cutter appearance, distinguished mainly by variations in skin color and hairstyle. If the characters' enjoyment in gardening doesn't convince some youngsters to try raising plants themselves, the splendid feast at the end may at least encourage them to taste some unfamiliar vegetable dishes.–Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University, Mankato
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Review

"Today we have harvested enough vegetables to have a giant feast. Everyone in the neighborhood is invited to bring a special dish made from vegetables they grew in the community garden. We're having salsa, stir-fry, eggplant stew, potato pie, and carrot cake. Yum! I can't wait."

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Beyond Words (August 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1582701091
• ISBN-13: 978-1582701097
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,060,260 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars A lovely piece which teaches kids about community , October 12, 2004

By	Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

How is a community garden different from a personal backyard garden? Our Community Garden is a first-person lyrical story which brings together the goals and experiences of one Audrey Aubergine and her friends, who tend their community garden and play together there. Add folk art colorful illustrations and warm drawings and you have a lovely piece which teaches kids about community garden fellowship as they read the story of working together.