Monday 26 May 2014

Lottie and Dottie Sow Carrots by Claire Burgess and Marijke van Veldhoden (Children's, 5 years +, 10E/10E)


Themes: judging people, gardening, growing vegetables, handy tips
   
Content: Lots of humour

Summary from Orion
A brand new blue Early Reader about two little girls who decide to grow their own carrots, from one of the UK's top gardening bloggers.

Early Readers are stepping stones from picture books to reading books. A blue Early Reader is perfect for sharing and reading together. A red Early Reader is the next step on your reading journey.

Lottie and Dottie love growing things and when they take a trip to Mr McWelly's Garden Centre they make the amazing discovery that carrots taste much better when they grow them themselves..

Nayuleska's thoughts
Having sisters grow their own veg is a great idea for a story. I loved how Dottie and Lottie didn't fight, they had heaps of fun playing around (although it was clear that Lottie was the eldest...she wasn't the one running around with a pink plant pot over her head!) It goes to show you can grown veg even if its just in a pot-still tastes good! 

I liked the twist about their creepy neighbour, who I suspect will be telling Dottie more secrets. I thought it was good how the reader is introduced to the concept that there is more than one type of carrot, I enjoyed witnessing Lottie's patience as she explained that carrots don't grow instantly. The step by step guide at the end of the story to grow carrots is a better explanation than I've seen on seed packets! I haven't grown carrots but I am growing flowers. 

Find out more on both Claire's website and Marljke's website (latter isn't in English).

Suggested read
Another food based read is ChocolatePorridge by Margaret Mahy & Terry Milne (Children's, 5 years +, 10E/10E)

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