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The Good Garden: How One Family Went from Hunger to Having Enough

Maria Luz and her family represent part of the two billion people around the world who are not “food secure”…which means they do not grow enough food to feed themselves and make extra money for medical needs, education, and clean water.  They are poor Honduran farmers trying to farm in soil depleted of nutrients. Here enters the teacher, Don Pedro (Don Elias Sanchez in real life.), who introduces the concepts of composting, terracing, natural insect repellents, and cash crops.  Maria’s family and their neighbors implement these concepts and simply turn their life around.  Each two page spread chronicles a part of the story lavishly illustrated in bold, bright Honduran sun filled colors.  Back matter includes more information about the real life people represented here. Also included are concrete ideas on how we can help to improve food security in our neighborhoods and in the world.  The author also wrote another book, “One Hen: How One Small Loan Made a big Difference”.  There is a website related to this book that is for teachers, librarians, and parents interested in teaching children through microfinance stories,  financial responsibility, and giving back.  As we become more of a global community, the above books are important ones to purchase for our libraries so we can inspire our students to become global citizens.