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MIDVALE, Utah – If you have kids, you may know that some think food comes from the grocery store. Author and media professor Karl Beckstrand is giving the backstory on that simplification. His 23rd book, “GROW: How We Get Food from Our Garden,” details how land is prepared, seeds are sown and nourished, and food is harvested. All steps are vividly illustrated by U.K. artist Zanara.
“Kids love to see nature in action,” says Beckstrand of his gardening book, which includes an animal finding activity for children ages 4 – 7. The picture book, which can serve as curriculum for early grades, includes online tips for starting a garden.
Meant to be read aloud, the colorful book with a mixed-race family is full of alliteration, rhythm and rhyming words. While sentences are simple, families may get unintended laughs as this kid’s book contains several tongue twisters even scholars may stumble over.
Beckstrand, who won an International Book Award for his western novel “To Swallow the Earth,” has children’s books on careers, astronomy, immigration, and five books on food. His other culinary titles include “Bad Bananas: A Story Cookbook for Kids,” “The Dancing Flamingos of Lake Chimichanga,” “She Doesn’t Want the Worms” and “Ma MacDonald Flees the Farm.”
As a kid, Beckstrand wanted to be a rock star — not a writer. Before being published he worked in human resources, hospitality and public policy. His first publisher died the day his book was to print. Even after getting a master’s degree in international organizations, Beckstrand feels his most valuable education has come from running a business and living abroad. “I did get to sing professionally — in a wedding band,” he said. So his bucket list is mostly complete.
Many of Beckstrand’s diverse books are in Spanish and come with a pronunciation guide in English. Most have online extras and surprise endings. His work has been praised by Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, The Horn Book and School Library Journal. All may be found at Amazon, BN.com, iBooks, PremioBooks.com, Target.com and Walmart.com.
Release ID: 88980036