"Dad says we are going to grow vegetable soup." So begins Lois Ehlert’s bright, bold picture book about vegetable gardening for the very young. The necessary tools are pictured and labeled, as are the seeds (green bean, pea, corn, zucchini squash, and carrot). Then the real gardening happens . . . planting, weeding, harvesting, washing, chopping, and cooking! In the end? "It was the best soup ever." Ehlert’s simple, colorful cut-paper-style illustrations are child-friendly, as is the big black type. A recipe for vegetable soup tops it all off! From Publishers Weekly The title says everything the book contains. First, there is the idea, then the actual work: tools are employed for planting seeds that grow first into sprouts, then into plants and then vegetables. The process involves water, weeding, digging up and washing; finally, there is the reward of cooking the vegetables and, yes, eating the soupthe end of the chain, at least this year. The book provides a healthy dose of completely digestible information on growing and nurturing living things; it's also a zesty introduction to vivid, abstract art. Both Ehlert's illustrations and her basic instructions shed light and color on the simple pleasures of gardening. Ages 3-8. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. From School Library Journal PreSchool-Grade 1 This is the boldest, brassiest garden book to hit the market, and what a delight. Intensely colored graphics capture the complete growing process from seed to cooking pot, with the focus on the plants. The unseen narrator describes the process of growing vegetable soup, from preparing the tools and digging holes for the seeds to weeding plants; picking vegetables; washing, chopping, and cooking themand finally enjoying the homemade soup while planning to grow more next year. It's a fresh presentation of the gardening cycle with a joyful conclusion, and the added attraction of an easy and tasty recipe for vegetable soup on the flyleaf. A book to help nourish healthy readers. Barbara Peklo Serling, Oneida City Schools, N.Y. Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title. Review “A fresh presentation of the gardening cycle with a joyful conclusion, and the added attraction of an easy and tasty recipe for vegetable soup on the flyleaf.”--School Library Journal “Provides a healthy dose of completely digestible information on growing and nurturing living things.”--Publishers Weekly