Gianferrari, Maria. Thank a Farmer. Illustrated by Monica Mikai. Norton Young Readers, 2023. 978-1-324-01579-6. $18.95. Grades K-3. Unpaged.

In this beautiful tribute to farmers everywhere, various products are highlighted along with descriptions of how those products came to be. Bread, for instance, begins as wheat, which is harvested by farmers and then ground into flour. Milk is squeezed by hand or machine from cows, berries are picked off the vine, and maple syrup is extracted from trees and then boiled. Vegetables, rice, peanut butter, and even sweaters and socks all begin with farmers. In turn, farmers have much to be thankful for, too, including animals, machines, sunlight, water, worms, butterflies, bees, and trees. Told in lyrical free verse, this informative text is complemented by colorful illustrations and back matter that offers additional information about the products mentioned in the book.

THOUGHTS: Young children will love learning about how their food grows and what all happens to it before it hits their plate. Perhaps they could even write thank you letters to their local farmers after reading the book.

630 Agriculture