Young readers of this photo-essay are invited to imagine visiting a small farm to watch the farmers and their children care for the soil and animals, raise their crops and sell them at a nearby farmers’ market. Each season of the year is introduced with an appealing full-bleed photograph: a robin beginning a nest, a small child with tousled blond curls touching a broccoli, a neatly bearded older farmer on a tractor, a warmly dressed woman feeding a very woolly sheep. Other pictures in small frames show animals, plants and people at work and play, including a happy farmer milking goats, children planting potatoes and a baby who’s just enjoyed raspberry pie. Not all the pictures are explained by the text, which describes each season’s activities but sometimes talks down to the reader. While the word “sustainable” doesn’t appear until the afterword, the emphasis is on environmentally sound practices. Largely based on a small cooperative farm in British Columbia, this cheery description might well convince some readers to join the group. (Informational picture book. 4-7)
