Reviewed by: Helen Mason
Excerpt:
My mom and I can't afford to have a cottage in the summer or to take trips to Disneyworld. But we live in Ottawa, the capital of Canada. There is a farm right in the middle of the city, very close to our home. It belongs to all the people in Canada, and is used by scientists to learn about farming.

So starts a delightful picture book, Our Farm in the City that focuses on Ottawa's Central Experimental Farm, a National Historic Site dating back to 1886. Originally on the outskirts of Ottawa, thanks to urban growth, it is now close to the downtown.

The text of this nonfiction picture book consists of short lines and easy-to-read poetry that beginning readers will find easy to access. The opening pages talk about the work done on the Experimental Farm and whimsically discuss the experiments scientists do. For example, what might happen if scientists crossed lettuce with spinach? Would that make spinlet? Readers are encouraged to make up and name their own crosses. What fun!

No farm is complete without animals. Simple but colourful pictures show children from various backgrounds riding behind a team of horses and visiting the barn to see sheep, chickens, hens, and pigs. In the field, there's a special cow with brown polka dots. She's so friendly she can almost talk.

And then there are the plants. Scientists work in the fields during the summer. They see how different types of vegetables grow in the local soil and climate. The gardens are full of various flowers: Scotch thistles, daylilies, and sunflowers. Bees fly from blossom to blossom. There are more than 2,000 types of trees on the farm. They're beautiful in summer but even better in the fall when the golden leaves of the maple float and twirl and spin. That's the best time of all.

Except for winter, when snow blossoms on all the trees and ice sparkles like diamonds. Then, the farm in the city seems rich. It's such a beautiful place that the author invites everyone to come and visit.

Our Farm in the City has a place in elementary school classrooms or libraries.

Highly Recommended

Source: Issue 25, Canadian Review of Materials
About the reviewer:
As a member of the Kanata-Hazeldean Lions Club, Helen Mason buys several hundred books for primary and junior children that the club gives to the clients of the Kanata Food Cupboard on Family Literacy Day each year. She has a background in teaching, writing, and educational publishing.