Potatoes on Rooftops: Farming in the City
by Hadley Dyer
Annick Press, 2012
ISBN 978-1-55451-424-3
$14.95, 84 pp, ages 10 – 16
annickpress.com
Students are sure to love the colourful, factual and humourous nature of this book. Beginning with a game of hot potato examining food miles, and moving through gardening situations throughout the world before ending at practical planning to create your own green space, this book is a treasury of must-knows and did-you-knows of growing your own food. Students and teachers will find a multitude of useful information and reasons to garden from reducing eco-footprints to eating tastier food to getting great physical exercise!
Classroom Connections: This is a gem of a resource for any teacher in an urban or suburban area. This book could complement a variety of classroom units of study, be a springboard for a school gardening club or eco group, or help to examine the different ways humans interact with their environments. It is a great non-fiction reference to support teaching in Science and Technology as well as Social Studies curriculum areas. Sections on the food chain, producers and consumers, global warming, renewable resources, the water cycle and the role of plants in our environment are all excellent. There are also wonderful sections about human geography and the unequal global and local distribution of wealth, as well as the historical trend of moving to cities after the industrial revolution and the governmental push to have private gardens during both World Wars.
Review by Amanda Forbes.
This review is from Canadian Teacher Magazine’s Apr/May 2014 issue.
