Garden Stew by Carrie Gallasch illustrated by Zoe Ingram

Did you make 'mud pies' as a child?  I certainly did, gathering dirt, leaves and even small pebbles to make wonderful imaginary food which was shared with friends.  All of that happens in this book along with scrumptious illustrations and a simple direct text which invites young the reader to join in:

"Something that we all can do, let's make garden stew."

This is a wonderful book to share with a preschool child. Grab your toys, utensils, bowls and imagination and head outside. The ingredients are simple - mud, water, leaves, flower petals, stones and sand. Mix it well then add a few gumnuts, twigs and feathers. Now it is time to share your stew.

"Let's pretend we at it all! We love garden stew. Do you?"

Take a closer look at the front cover. I was always intrigued by the idea of the old woman who lived in a shoe. Here we have a watering can house - red with white polka dots - I love this image. Next stop the end papers which are fine textured patterns - front and back are different. One more thing - the animals who play their game of making stew are Quokkas! I didn't realise this until I read the blurb where I also found the names of our pair of friends - Tattie and Tiny Spud. 

How cute is the Quokka - he/she needs to appear in more picture books. I did find these two books Clancy the Quokka (2019) by Lili Wilkinson and Can a Quokka Quack? (2018) by Jolly Read.

Image source The Nature Conservancy

With a preschool audience you might also like to consider some of the words used in this book: stew, ladle, pluck, brew, prefer, bowls, pour. 

Carrie Gallasch is an early childhood teacher and she lives in South Australia. I did enjoy her earlier books Stitches and Stuffing and Cherries.

The illustrator Zoe Ingram from Scotland has an extensive web site which is well worth exploring. I was excited to see she has illustrated this cookery book.

Mud Puddle by Robert Munsch illustrated by Dušan Petricic

The Paperbag Princess is a treasured book in my reading repertoire but did you know Robert Munsch has written fifty books?  One that I discovered on my recent trip to Canada was Mud Puddle.  

While I was in Halifax I visited their fabulous children’s bookshop called Woozles. Each week a staff member walks to the nearby gardens for a pr- school story time so I tagged along and listened while Nadine read Mud Puddle.  I love to read books like this to Kindergarten. I might even take along a jar of mud when I read it!

This book made me think of another book I used to read to classes called Dreadful David by Sally Odgers.  In Mud Puddle Julie Ann has lovely outdoor plans for her day, she dresses carefully and steps outside to relax under the apple tree.  Julie Ann does not know that a mud puddle lurks in the tree just waiting to jump on her head!  Julie Ann races back inside where her mum drops her into the bathtub.  When she is clean all over Julie Ann carefully puts on a fresh set of clothes and heads outside to the sandbox.  She does not see the mud puddle lurking on the roof of her house.  And so the pattern continues. 

Mud Puddle is a book about problem solving and perseverance. Julie Ann is not defeated by this pesky mud puddle, she will not give in and stay inside.  Her solution is simple and ingenious. 

I found a readers theatre presentation and a great audio version.  Also if you can find Dreadful David in your library grab it too!