Books > UP, Down, AND AROUND
From seeds dropped into soil to corn bursting from its stalks, everything in this garden is on the move! Join in this rollicking good-time celebration of gardening.
From School Library Journal
"This cheerful
story is a pleasant introduction to planting and prepositions. When
two children help plant a garden, they learn that some vegetables
grow underground, some shoot up above it, and some grow on vines
that twine around and around... The rhyming text is simple, but the
words are well chosen... Children will enjoy finding various insects
on each page and talking about the roles they play in a garden. A
good choice for introducing how things grow.
From Booklist
... this picture book depicts a bustling kitchen garden. Two children
help a man with planting, watering, and harvesting vegetables, while
a dog, a cat, and a rabbit observe the fun. All around them, snails,
caterpillars, birds, bugs, and worms creep, crawl, fly, climb, dig,
and generally cavort about this flourishing garden... a repeated
theme in the rhymed couplets is the direction plants grow: "Broccoli
grows up. / Beets grow down. / Green beans climb / around and around." The
short verses create a quick pace and an upbeat tempo throughout."
Great News!
Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres and illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott was chosen as the 2008 Pennsylvania One Book (Every Young Child). The picture book is being used in libraries, preschools, head start and kindergarten classrooms throughout Pennsylvania. During 2008 Ayres traveled across the state to share her story with children. And the book was featured on Oprah’s Kids’ List in the fall of 2008!
For discounted quantity purchases of Up, Down, and Around, please contact Random House 1-800-726-0600. This book is available in hardcover, paperback and big book formats.
The Story Behind Up, Down, and Around
When I was a child, I loved stories. So I made up tall tales and whoppers, and told these stories as if they were true. Sometimes I explained that the stories were pretend. Sometimes I didn’t. Oops!
While I loved stories, I didn’t like my veggies—not a bit. I liked corn
on the cob, potatoes, and tomatoes but in my opinion, all the rest could just
sit in their dishes forever. Or they could stay in the cans or in the freezer
or in the garden, so I wouldn’t have to look at them, or smell them, or get in
trouble for not eating them.
Growing up is funny. Some things change and some things stay the same. I still love stories; I read books and books every week. But now I like vegetables too. I like them so much I’ve written a magazine story about sugar peas and another about roots and stems and leaves. UP DOWN and AROUND is now a book. And yes, I now like every vegetable in the book, including okra!