How to Say Hello to a Worm
This month’s book pick is How To Say Hello To A Worm by Kari Percival, coming from our section for children born in 2020. This book won an Ezra Jack Keats award in 2023, which is an award given to first time authors and illustrators that have outstanding books. It's a high honor, and Kari Percival has fully earned it. How to Say Hello is an adorable and sweet read, and it's full of information for our four year olds!
“How do you say hello to a worm?
Gently, very gently.
Hello, Worm!”
Kari goes through a couple of basic ideas of gardening and connecting with the outdoors throughout this book, like the example of saying hello to the worm. We also say hello to a ladybug and a bee! She talks about the easiest ideas of interacting with these insects, and I find it informational to this age group, yet so fun. She also goes through how to plant different seeds. Lettuce seeds we pat into the soil, while we poke a hole in the soil for our pea seeds. We wait for them to grow, and she even tells us what to expect!
She's also included an informational page at the end, which I'm always a sucker for. Big kudos to authors that give parents even more helpful ideas and facts!! Percival tells kids what they will need for a garden and what and when to plant! “Gardening teaches about our connections with all the elements: the sun, the rain, our food, our bodies, the seasons, and the community of living things we belong to. It teaches patience and gratitude, and early memories of digging in the dirt help sprout a lifelong love of learning outdoors.” She says it all herself. It's worth the mess!
As Percival says, basic gardening can teach our children so many things that you may not think of at first. The patience and excitement of those first sprouts can be invigorating for everyone involved, and gardening is so helpful because of the food you can grow and the wildlife you can help.
Speaking of wildlife, our “garden” has sparked so many conversations in our house. I put the word garden in quotations for a reason, and that's because I don't think what we have can even be counted as a garden anymore because of our wildlife. Ha! We’ve caught raccoons, squirrels and deer eating pretty much every single thing we’ve planted. We’ve got to enjoy nature, and while this isn't the way we expected our “garden” to bloom, the amount of joy, laughter and learning that has been involved has exceeded my expectations of what we can get out of this adventure.
So, go try starting a garden! Start small if you like, with just a pot, dirt and seeds. You can do it, and you never know what things both you and your child can learn! The possibilities are endless!
Happy reading, happy learning, and happy summer, my friends!
