One Good Apple

One Good Apple: Growing Our Food for the Sake of the Earth, Catherine Paladino. Just the ticket for Earth Day reading, One Good Apple is a picture book about sustainable agriculture. The photos are absolutely lovely, and Paldino covers topics from the impact of pesticide use on health and the environment to composting to organic farming, biodiversity, natural pest control and more. Written at an upper elementary through middle school reading level, this book is well worth reading, or at least paging through, for all ages. There's too much text to hold the young gents' interest, so we looked at the pictures and hit the highlights by reading the picture captions and sometimes a quick summary of the text. The book stays very positive, discussing the dangers of pesticides and chemical fertilizers but mostly focusing on the benefits and pleasures of organic farming and sustainable living. The youngest guy liked the pictures of apples, and the other two were fascinated by the worms, bugs and toads, the fruit and the flowers, and the stories of the people. Kindergarten gent took it to bed with him for bedtime reading and looking, a sure sign that it was a big hit.