THE NO-DIG CHILDREN'S GARDENING BOOK

When mulch and compost replace digging, gardening becomes easier for kids and better for the soil.

This ambitious, attractively presented book encourages children to become not only gardeners, but also nature observers, scientists, and data collectors. Comprehensible and enthusiastically but very briefly presented information is sometimes inadequate. We aren’t told exactly how to build compost enclosures from old pallets, how deep compost in a garden bed needs to be, how to tell when compost is mature, or how far apart to space zucchini and tomato plants (the same spacing is used for all the vegetables in the demo bed). The book is U.K.–centric, and some advice needs checking: Frost dates will vary, and composting bones is discouraged by the Environmental Protection Agency and might attract rats. Little help for the urbanite can be found. Purchased compost and mulch can be costly. Still, there is a lot of cheering-on and an upbeat, can-do tone throughout. The book advocates for school gardening, market gardening, and gardening as a family and offers suggestions for encouraging children with ADHD or who are autistic to garden. A sensory garden, “easy flowers,” and ways to attract wildlife are described. Abundant color photos brighten every page, and the layout is chock-full but clear. Individuals in the photos are mostly White-presenting; those in the illustrations are diverse.

Adults with the resources and climate to use this book can glean ideas for engaging children.