Charlie’s Dirt Day
Fitzhenry & Whiteside
Written by Andrew Larsen, Illustrated by Jacqueline Hudon-Verrelli
32 pages
age 5-8
Synopsis from Fitzhenry & Whiteside:
When Charlie and his dad follow a parade of their neighbours through the local park they discover everyone is walking towards a big pile of dirt! But this isn’t just any pile of dirt – this is compost. Charlie learns from his neighbors about the gardens they have and the delicious vegetables they grow in them. Mr Martino is growing tomatoes while Mrs Lee has onions and Mr Singh has herbs. Charlie is determined to become a gardener as well – and come up with something special to add to his neighbour’s plans to make the best spaghetti sauce ever!
Leaves are appearing on the once bare branches. Flowers are shooting up from the ground. Your kids may have noticed the new growth appearing around them. Charlie’s Dirt Day explores composting and how it’s an element to growing flowers, vegetables, herbs. We can pick-up compost from our city too, just like Charlie and his dad. Charlie’s Dirt Day is a nice story about community and gardening. Even those living in apartments, like Charlie, can enjoy growing something themselves with container gardens.
Charlie’s Dirt Day takes the kids through a nice story of gardening and composting and the last two pages of the book give them the tools to start at home. There’s more information on dirt, composting, container gardens and even growing seed in a cup. Charlie’s Dirt Day is a perfect way to get the kids interested in helping in the garden or starting their own window sill plant.
Additional Reading: Grandpa Green.
You can find a copy of Charlie’s Dirt Day from Fitzhenry & Whiteside. Visit our Kid’s Books section for other great book recommendations.