Inch by Inch: The Garden Song

by David Mallett, Ora Eitan (Illustrator)

Overview

Inch by inch, row by row, gonna make this garden grow!

Celebrate Earth Day with this sweet and lively picture book version of the popular song. Includes the musical notations on the final spread, so you can play along on guitar or piano if you’d like.

A young gardener and a playful dog plant the seeds and weed, water, and protect their plants—until finally, they get to enjoy their harvest! Children will enjoy singing along while they're introduced to the basics of gardening and where fruit and vegetables come from.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780064434812
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/11/1997
Series:	Trophy Picture Bks.
Edition description:	First Harper Trophy Edition
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.75(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.00(d)
Lexile:	NP (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

David Mallett has written and nationally performed eight albums of original music. Over 100 other artists have performed Mr. Mallet's popular song music, including John Denver, The Muppets, and Arlo Guthrie. Mr. Mallett lives with his family in Maine and Tennessee.

Ora Eitan is well known in Israel for her many illustrated books for children, including No Milk and Sun Is Falling, Night Is Calling. Ms. Eitan, who has been nominated for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, lives in Jerusalem.

Editorial Reviews

PreS-Gr 1In this picture-book version of the song first published in 1975 (Cherry Lane Music Publishing Co.), a young child plants seeds, prays that God will bless them, weeds and tends them, and, finally, gleans a bountiful harvest. The rhyming text, which is at times ambiguous (``Feel the need to grow my own/`cause the time is close at hand''), takes second place to the delightful illustrations. The young gardener, wearing a shirt, vest, and pants, with an oversized hat that covers facial features, could be male or female. Accompanied by a playful dog, the child works, slides down rainbows, defends the garden against a hungry crow, and gathers the produce. The paintings are large with some objects spilling over into the ample white space that makes up the borders. Employing a variety of media including cut paper, Eitan uses color and space to create a striking effect. For example, orange tones are picked up in the child's vest, the tree bark, fruits, roof tops, and the earth. Musical notation appears at the end of the book. Use this with Lois Ehlert's Growing Vegetable Soup (Harcourt, 1987) and Douglas Florian's Vegetable Garden (Harcourt, 1991) for a celebration of gardening in story and song.Marianne Saccardi, Norwalk Community-Technical College, CT

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