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Before We Eat

CLASSROOM GUIDE

Excellence in Children’s Literature, American Horticultural Society and National Junior Master Gardener Program

Adopted by the USDA Agriculture in the Classroom program

Moonbeam Gold Award

Before We Eat has been adopted by the USDA’s Agriculture in the Classroom program.

Before we eat, many people work very hard?planting grain, catching fish, tending farm animals, and filling crates of vegetables. With vibrant illustrations by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian, this book reminds us what must happen before food gets to our tables to nourish our bodies and spirits.

This expanded edition of Before We Eat includes back-of-book features about school gardens and the national farm-to-school movement.
Pat Brisson is the author of 20 books for young readers, including The Summer My Father Was Ten and Sometimes We Were Brave (both from Boyds Mills Press). A graduate of Rutgers University, she is a former elementary school teacher, school librarian, and public-library reference librarian. Pat lives in New Jersey with her husband.

Artist Mary Azarian is the Caldecott-Medal winning illustrator of Snowflake Bentley, written by Jacqueline Briggs Martin (1999, Houghton Mifflin). She created the pictures for Before We Eat by first carving the pictures in wood (in reverse!) and then printing them with ink onto paper before adding the color with watercolor paints. She lives and creates her art on a hilltop farm in Vermont.
“Sumptuous.” - Horn Book Guide

“A simple poem thanking the people who grow, transport, sell and prepare our food is transformed by Azarian’s bright woodcuts... A warm celebration of both small farms and the idea that it takes a village to feed a child. (Picture book. 2-6)” - Kirkus

“An irresistible tapestry.” - Washington Post

“An especially and highly recommended addition to family, daycare center, preschool, elementary school, and community library picture book collections.” - Midwest Review of Books

“This eye- and ear-catching read-aloud makes a wonderful discussion-starter for exploring how food is produced, acquired, and appreciated.”
- School Library Journal

“What did you like about the book? Anyone who has ever lived in Vermont would be well familiar with the artwork of Mary Azarian. In this book she first carved the pictures in wood before printing them with ink and onto paper and then adding color with acrylic paints. Her very detailed illustrations have the feeling of folklore, which perfectly complement the words of Pat Brisson. Food begins with plowing the ground and planting the seeds, tending the fields and removing the weeds. Eggs are gathered, cows are milked, and honey is harvested from the bees. The items reach warehouses where they are packed into crates and carried to the grocery market for you to buy – and eat. The book is a tribute to all who take part in this process from the very beginning to the very end.” - Katrina Yurenka, YSBR Moderator, Youth Services Book Review,