Weekly Book Series: Earth
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Earth Day is Saturday, April 22nd this year. Check out our book pick below!
Harlem Grown by Tony Hillery
From the publisher:
Harlem Grown tells the inspiring true story of how one man made a big difference in a neighborhood. After seeing how restless they were and their lack of healthy food options, Tony Hillery invited students from an underfunded school to turn a vacant lot into a beautiful and functional farm. By getting their hands dirty, these kids turned an abandoned space into something beautiful and useful while learning about healthy, sustainable eating and collaboration.
Five years later, the kids and their parents, with the support of the Harlem Grown staff, grow thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables a year. All of it is given to the kids and their families. Harlem Grown is an independent, not-for-profit organization. The author’s share of the proceeds from the sale of this book go directly to Harlem Grown.
Frequent speech sounds in the book include:
initial /g/ (e.g., garden)
initial “pl” (e.g., plant)
initial “gr” (e.g., grow)
medial “ar” (e.g., garden)
Key language concepts in the book include:
Sequencing: order of events that leads to creating the garden
Vocabulary: neighborhood, haunted, busting, idea, fertilizer, seedlings, farm, wilted
Grammar: adjectives, plural nouns, regular and irregular past tense and action verbs
Text Features: repetitive text, colored font
Problem Solving: Mr. Tony and the kids revive the garden
Character Analysis: Mr. Tony had an idea to change the neighborhood of Harlem by helping children create a garden
Real-Life Connection: Plant and grow your own garden, explore community garden opportunities in your area, or even visit a local farmers market.
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