Review Title: Joy of Family Gardening (review of We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines and Kids)
Reviewer: Janice S. Garey
***** 5 Stars

This beautifully illustrated and delightfully told story of a family going through the ups and downs of learning to garden will inspire people of all ages to engage with plants. The family starts small scale with a potted fern from which they learn through failure to keep going on toward success by never giving up. Many life lessons are embedded in the story as the family pursues a beautiful and fruitful garden.

Most people are familiar with the Gaines family from their Fixer Upper show. This book will be successful based on that platform alone, but the book has so much more to offer than just pure celebrity appeal. With my background as a homeschool and church preschool teacher, I can envision using this book as a starting point for many learning projects that expand upon the book contents, in both the physical and spiritual realms. Life lessons abound within the story put to words. The illustrations help with teaching preschoolers the names of veggies and flowers, colors, quantities, and a variety of ways the young can help in the garden.

Children who are readers can enjoy the book at their learning level as they plan and anticipate good results from their efforts through multiple step processes. They will be thrilled with their own successfully planned and nurtured garden.

I think the book could even be used in a nursing home/assisted living setting where there is a community garden in which family members help loved ones participate in growing flowers.

I received a free ebook copy through NetGalley in exchange for reading and posting a review of the book. I am under no obligation to give a good review. I have since purchased a hard copy of this beautiful book for a friend. I think people at all levels and stages will benefit from this book’s informative content and life lessons.