Review Detail

Homegrown

Kids Fiction 97

Come home when the street lights turn on

August 05, 2024

Overall rating

4.0

Plot

4.0

Characters

4.0

Writing Style

3.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

Children wake up and don't have to go much further than their front doors to find friends and adventures! They take off on scooters and bikes (while safely wearing helmets!), and are able to hang out in the local park, climbing trees and catching butterflies. They visit with friends, and pool their resources so there are lots of activities to do. At the end of the day, their families gather for a picnic meal, and the children (along with one tired dog) are glad that they can be together and find everything they need in their homegrown neighborhood.

Good Points

This board book has great illustrations of a variety of children getting along and exploring their world. I loved that the children spend so much time outdoors and participate in all manner of activities; this could be a motivator to children who don't want to go outside! Swimming, playing soccer, and even sitting under a tree staring up at the branches are all great activities for outdoor explorers.

The poetry in the text is a little uneven, but I am very picky about both rhyme and meter. Young readers won't mind. Perhaps it's just as well, because when a book has very regular rhyme and meter, it tends to get stuck in one's brain after repeated reading!

Like Gibbs' Two Wheels or Graham's Concrete Garden, this is a great look at the fun that can be had in one's own neighborhood.