My harvest basket is filled with ... books?

It’s been a summer of planting and weeding and now it’s time to harvest! As long as the deer don’t get there first! Here are two books that celebrate farming and gardening. 

themes: nature, seasons, friendship

Seasons on the Farm 

by Chelsea Tornetto; illus. by Karen Bunting 

32 pages; ages 5-8

Sleeping Bear Press, 2025  

Barren trees sprout budding leaves. Melting snow drip-drops from eaves….

Beginning with sheep-shearing, this book takes readers through a year on a farm. Seeds are planted, the corn grows tall, farmers cut and bale hay… and eventually the combines rumble down the rows. Using rhyme, and the rhythm of the seasons, this book shares the daily tasks of farm life.

You might think things slow down once “…wood is cut and fires glow. Fields are covered up with snow.” But no. That’s when repairs get done and planning for spring crops. Back matter helps readers understand how important seasonal changes are for farming. And how farmers, after years of observing the seasons, become experts at understanding their local ecology.

What I like about this book: As a gardener who lives in a farming community, I enjoyed the way the seasons unfolded in the book. The language, slow and unhurried, invited me to linger on the page and immerse myself into the lovely artwork. I would have lingered longer, but … I hear the garden calling!

Speaking of gardening, one of the things we have to deal with in my neck of the woods is deer. They love to nibble on the apples, the flowers in the lawn, and just about everything in my garden (when they manage to get in). I have often thought I should write about those pesky deer, but I don’t have to because …

Oh Deer! 

by Phaea Crede; illus. by Erica J. Chen 

32 pages; ages 5-8

Sleeping Bear Press, 2025 

Jasper the Sasquatch lived in the woods. Alone. Other animals made him feel overwhelmed and worn-out.

I can hear you already: “But Sue, this isn’t a STEM book! It is a work of mythological proportions!” You are correct. And yet it pairs well with Seasons on the Farm because, who gets to eat all those yummy crops. Besides us?

Deer, of course! And for an all-alone sasquatch who wants to harvest his first crop of turnips, deer can be quite a problem. Jasper does not want to share his luscious, yummy turnip tops with anyone – and goes to great lengths to protect them. He tries a fence. He tries netting. He even hangs old CD’s and pots and pans.

What I like about this book: I like Jasper’s inventiveness. I also like how this book is about more than protecting turnip greens. Because, at the end he realizes that there are good reasons to share your veggies. And he discovers a way to have both solitude and a few close friends. 

Beyond the Books:

Visit a farm, if you can. Maybe there’s a pumpkin farm or U-pick orchard nearby, or a ranch. If there are no farms near you, visit a community garden where people grow their own veggies. 

Observe the trees and plants around your neighborhood as the season shifts from summer to fall to winter. What changes do you notice? The study of cyclical changes in plants and animals is called “phenology.”

Drop by a farmer’s market or green grocer and buy a turnip with its tops attached. You don’t have to be a deer to eat the greens. You can cook them in a quiche, bake them for crunchy chips, or fry them up with bacon and a bit of spice.

We’ll join Perfect Picture Book Friday once they resume. It’s a wonderful gathering where bloggers share great picture books at Susanna Leonard Hill's website. Review copies provided by the publishers.

https://susannahill.com/blog/