Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table

It shouldn’t be this hard. You walk to a biography section of a children’s room, any children’s room, and you start searching for biographies of living people who are not sports stars, actors, musicians or politicians. And you search. And you search. And after a while your eyes kind of droop and you......more

Will Allen is a farmer who can see the potential where others can’t. When he sees a vacant lot, he sees a farm with enough to feed everyone. When he was a boy, he grew up helping care for a large garden that kept their family fed. But Allen did not want to spend his life weeding and digging in the d......more

A children's picture book biography of a former basketball star who began an urban gardening movement in Milwaukee called Growing Power. The book captures his enthusiasm for his subject and its potential to change urban landscapes and food distribution systems. Will Allen's use of vermiculture (red......more

A call for children to be inspired by Will Allen to think about gardening and fresh produce being made more accessible to all, especially urban communities. A little wordy for a read aloud, but could pair nicely with outside activities or a community garden project.......more

This upbeat book is every bit as relevant today (2020) as it was in 2013, when it was first published. When Will Allen was growing up, there was plenty of home-grown food on his table. Although he was made to work on their farm, he didn't enjoy it. When he was an adult, he realized that he really did......more