Review - Meet Me at the Farmers Market

Meet Me at the Farmers Market
by Lisa Pelto
illustrated by Paula S. Wallace
Date: 2018
Publisher: Reading is Key Publishing
Reading level: C
Book type: picture book
Pages: 32
Format: e-book
Source: NetGalley

Sophia loves going to the Farmers Market every week. There are lots of things to see and do, and when she meets up with her friends, she loves it even more.

(synopsis from Goodreads)

First, a disclaimer. I didn't read the "whole" book. Due to technical issues, I could only see half of every page. If there were words on the bottom halves, I missed them. (I debated whether I should even review this book or not, but I feel like I need to mention this for people who might end up purchasing the book in e-book format. EPUBs do not always work properly with Adobe Digital Editions. So if you don't have a tablet or phone and are forced to read on your computer, you might have issues.)

That said, from what I did see, this book is an ode to farmers' markets (I don't know why the book refuses to use the possessive; not doing so makes it sound like a "farmers market" is a market where people are selling farmers). The young narrator visits these markets regularly with her mother. Her friends go, too. Sometimes they get special treats. If Sophia and her mother go on vacation, they'll seek out farmers' markets at their destination. Aside from that, there's really no story. It's basically just a book that introduces the concept of farmers' markets.

I'm no stranger to farmers' markets, having made almost weekly trips to them with my family when I was a kid. There is definitely something special about seeing all the hand-grown, handmade goods (as opposed to mass-produced items such as are found in grocery stores). Visiting farmers' markets is definitely something I would recommend... especially if you're going to introduce children to the concept through a book like this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Reading is Key Publishing for providing a digital ARC.

Premise: 3/5
Meter: n/a
Writing: 3/5
Illustrations: 3/5
Originality: 3/5

Enjoyment: 2/5

Overall: 2.67 out of 5