Apple cores
Bananas, bruised
Coffee grounds with filters, used
Just add to the pot
and let it all rot
into Compost Stew!
From eggshells to wiggly worms, this delightful recipe in bouncy verse features items—some familiar and some not so—that are fit for the home compost bin and will nourish Mother Earth. Vibrant collage illustrations use recycled and found materials to further a timely message. And to keep young environmental chefs fully informed about compostingdo’s and don’ts, there’s a note in the back about what’s
not fit for the bin.
Review, CM Magazine, October 15, 2010:
""An imaginative and engaging introduction to the concept of composting.""
Review, Through the Looking Glass, June 1, 2010:
""This wonderful rhyming picture book will show children how easy, and how fun, composting can be.""
Review, San Francisco Chronicle:
""Bouncy rhymes and busy collage art zip along as everything from apple cores to zinnia heads gets tossed into a rich and rotting soil-bound mix. A potentially heavy-handed message is delivered with a light touch so that you want to start your own waste heap right away. Mission accomplished!""
Review, Washington Post:
""When it comes to promoting environmentalism, there's no harm in starting young....Ashley Wolff's collage-style illustrations, made from newspaper, tea bags and other recycled materials, echo writer Mary McKenna Siddals's message of reducing waste.""
Review, Booklist:
""This title highlights a subject rarely covered in youth books and provides a lighthearted introduction to an earth- and kid-friendly activity. The brightly patterned collage artwork featuring a cast of multicultural kids working together will easily draw a young audience.""
Compost Stew is beautiful, poetic, evocative—and educational. It provides such vital, important information for children (and adults) to understand and embrace, and to put into practice! This book greatly respects its readers, and I hope it will become as widely read and popular as it deserves.
–Mollie Katzen, author of Moosewood Cookbook and Pretend Soup
