The Zero Waste Garden by Ben Raskin

The Zero Waste Garden
by Ben Raskin

ISBN-13: 9780711262331
Hardcover: 176 pages
Publisher: White Lion Publishing
Released: April 20th 2021

Source: Review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Organic gardening expert, Ben Raskin, shares over 60 unique planning-for-yield guides for key crops. Work out how to make the most of the green space you have got, what to grow easily in it, and how much you will harvest seasonally for zero waste.

Learn how to plant waste-free for any size plot, from balcony containers to 5-metre-square yards. Peppered with root-to-stalk cooking tips, including which crops you can eat straight away, this is a plot-to-plate book for everyone with a green-thumb. Perfect for new and experienced growers, vegans, zero-food waste followers, city gardeners, and the ecologically minded.


My Review:
Hot Button focused on how to make the most of your gardening space and minimalize the waste when using the plants. The author very briefly covered a lot of different gardening techniques. It's enough to get you interested but you'd have to read other books to really learn how to do these techniques. He talked about crop rotation, green manure, interplanting, undersowing, choosing efficient crops, and correct spacing for the crops (including estimates of how closely they can be planted and still give a good yield). He also talked about ways to store the plants after harvest (freezing, drying, fermenting). He then gave profiles on a lot of common garden plants and included information on how much space each plant takes, how much food you get off the plant, growing tips, when do harvest, how to use every useful part of the plant, and how to store the excess harvest for future use. I felt like this was more for a beginner gardener, especially one with limited space, but it doesn't really go into pest or disease control. Its strength is information on minimalizing food waste.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

A Mudlark's Treasures by Ted Sandling

A Mudlark's Treasures
by Ted Sandling

ISBN-13: 9780593197882
Paperback: 208 pages
Publisher: Aurum Press
Released: June 22nd 2021

Source: review copy from the publisher through Amazon Vine.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Mudlarking, the act of searching the Thames foreshore for items of value, has a long tradition in England's capital. In the late 18th and 19th centuries, mudlarks were small boys grubbing a living from scrap. Today’s mudlarks unearth relics of the past from the banks of the Thames which tell stories of Londoners throughout history. From Roman tiles to elegant Georgian pottery, presented here are modern-day mudlark Ted Sandling's most evocative finds, gorgeously photographed. Together they create a mosaic of everyday London life through the centuries, touching on the journeys, pleasures, vices, industries, adornments and comforts of a world city. This unique and stunning book celebrates the beauty of small things, and makes sense of the intangible connection that found objects give us to the individuals who lost them.


My Review:
A Mudlark's Treasures is about the types of things that can be found on the banks of the Thames, specifically the finds that the author has made. These objects span a long period of time, from before the founding of London to nearly present day. He focused on historical objects. After an introduction describing what mudlarking was in the past and is in the present, he talked about his finds. He put them in groupings of similar types. He briefly described the object found and then gave about a page and a half of information about it and when it was made. The only pictures were those on the cover, and they were small and not very high definition. Numbers labeled what they were and when they were made, and these were later described in the book. However, these were only about half of the total finds that he talked about. Part of the reason I got the book was because I was interested in actually seeing what these objects look like (even in a broken state), so I was disappointed. However, I did enjoy learning the history behind these objects.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.

Social Skills for Kids by Keri K. Powers

Social Skills for Kids
by Keri K. Powers

ISBN-13: 9781507215753
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Adams Media
Released: June 15th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Help your children develop essential social skills—including groups, one-on-one interactions, and virtual communication—with these 150 easy, fun activities to teach your kids how to socially succeed.

From taking turns to making eye contact to staying engaged during conversations, developing appropriate social skills is an important factor for kids to be able to succeed in school and life in general. But how can you tell if your child is really making progress while you read the same stories, have the same conversations, and chaperone the same playdates? The answer is to add some variety to your child’s daily activities with these 150 exercises specially designed to keep your child (and their friends) entertained, all while teaching them effective social skills.

In Social Skills for Kids, you’ll learn everything you need to know about how social skills develop in children and what you can do to support their growth. In this book, you’ll find games to encourage them in group settings, activities that you (or another caregiver) can do alone with your child, and ways to make the most of virtual interactions for social skill development.


My Review:
Social Skills for Kids describes fun activities that teach social skills like active listening, understanding body language, and effective communication. The author started by explaining what social skills are usually present at different ages. She then described some activities suitable for young kids (3+) and worked up to activities for progressively older kids (6- or 7-year-olds). There were also a few things suggested that you can do with 1-2-year-olds to help them develop. There were activities like teaching how loud to talk in different situations, using descriptive language, and giving affective instructions to someone else. For each activity, the author explained the purpose, targeted age, how many people were needed, how to do the activity, and some questions to ask afterward to help the child process what they learned. The directions were easy to understand. These activities were either fun games or interesting activities that kids will probably be willing to try and aren't too tricky to do. Overall, I'd recommend this book to people wanting creative ways to teach social skills.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


Excerpt: Read an excerpt using Google Preview.

Human Anatomy for Kids by Kristie Wagner

Human Anatomy for Kids
by Kristie Wagner

ISBN-13: 978-1648768637
Paperback: 80 pages
Publisher: Rockridge Press
Released: May 25th 2021

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Learn what makes our bodies move with the Junior Scientists series for kids ages 6 to 9

Are you curious about what your body looks like under your skin? Do you wonder where your food goes after you eat it? Check out what’s happening inside your body with this kid’s anatomy book. You’ll take a tour of your tissues, organs, muscles, and bones, and find out how they work together to help you move, think, and grow.

Explore a kid’s anatomy book that includes colorful pictures and diagrams show you the names of all your body parts, how your body fights off germs, how snacks become energy, and more. This kid’s anatomy book is packed full of fascinating tidbits, like why your body grows hair and what causes freckles. Try hands-on activities like pulling the DNA out of strawberries!


My Review:
Human Anatomy for Kids provides basic information about human anatomy at a level suitable for kids. It covered various systems in the body (respiratory, digestive, reproductive, etc.). At the start of each chapter, it had a nice photo of a human anatomy model. In the chapter, there were simple diagrams showing the location of the various organs in that system. There were also some activities for the kids to do relating to anatomy. The information didn't get very in-depth. For example, the book listed some different tissue types but only gave a brief, one sentence description of what they did and how they differed. This book was more of a nice introduction to the topic rather than actual teaching text (like for homeschooling).


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.