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I was looking back at the articles I have written for this column, trying to get inspired. I came across an article about agriculture focused children’s books. So, I went on the search to see what new books I could find. I wasn’t disappointed.

I found two books that we used last summer when Farm Bureau was hosting story time with a farmer at local ice cream shops. “Tales of the Dairy Godmother: Chuck’s Ice Cream Wish” written by Viola Butler is a creative story of how ice cream is made. In “Farm Boots,” written by Lisl Detlefsen, you will explore farm life through a diverse cast of farming families as they work and play in boots, all year long.

I also found a cool book for middle schoolers — “Hero for the Hungry: The Life and Work of Norman Borlaug.” Author Peggy Thomas shares the moving and informative biography of a quiet Iowa farm boy, born in 1914, who grew up to be an agricultural scientist and won a Nobel Prize in 1970. Borlaug’s innovations in crop varieties founded the Green Revolution and fed hundreds of millions of people around the world. You can find these books and many more at Feeding the Minds Press. Not only will you find the books, you also will find educational resources to accompany them. The class lessons and activities, videos and educator guides are an amazing resource for every type of classroom.

Who is Feeding Minds Press and what are they all about? Feeding Minds Press is a children’s book publishing venture from the American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture. It was launched in 2018 to advance the foundation’s efforts to identify “Accurate Ag Books” that accurately cover agricultural topics. More than 500 books for children, teenagers and adults have been identified and are listed in a database available online.

Included in this database are all of the “Book of the Year” award winners. Book of the Year selections are educational, help to create positive public perceptions about agriculture, inspire readers to learn more and touch their readers’ lives as well as tell the farmer’s story.

The 12th award winner and the first one published by Feeding Minds Press is a book written by Lisl Detlefsen and illustrated by Renee Kurilla. “Right This Very Minute” explains to children how every minute of every day, someone, somewhere, is working to bring food to their table. And of course, the foundation has created an educator’s guide to accompany this book as well.

Please explore the Feeding Minds Press website and the foundation’s database full of fun reads, and share them with teachers and homeschoolers you know. Kids have to learn, and some adults need to be reminded, that food doesn’t just show up at the grocery store. There is so much happening…Right this very minute!

Submitted by Mary Smallsreed, a member of the Trumbull County Farm Bureau and grew up on a family dairy farm in Northeast Ohio.

OFBF Mission: Working together for Ohio farmers to advance agriculture and strengthen our communities.