Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer

Winnie Finn, Worm Farmer

Picture book
Winnie, the intrepid protagonist of Carol Brendler's Winnie
Finn, Worm Farmer is a girl after my heart. She loves worms. She
likes to trundle them around in a wagon. When she wants to enter them
in the county fair to earn money for a less rickety wagon she is told
there are no prizes for earthworms. A lesser kid would give up. Not
our Winnie. She finds ways to help neighbors to get their entries
ready, promised if they win they will share their money with her.
I love the very cute and expressive orange cat that accompanies
Winnie. Young children could be encouraged to find the cat in each
picture.
At the end of the book you will find easy instructions for
making a worm garden. What a great family project! And what a way to
get ready for organic farming which is another super family project.
On a personal note, thinking about worms brings back delightful
memories of walking places with my kids. If there had been rain I had
to add in extra time to rescue worms from puddles. One day when I had
walked Amber two miles to her bus stop I found a worm nearly as long
as my arm. As I was admiring it a man ran out of his house asking if
he could buy it. I gave it to him for his wife's garden. When he
went running in his house, shouting, "Honey, look what I have!" I
hoped "Honey" would find it a pleasant surprise.
A great big shout out goes out to earthworms who do so much to keep
soil in great shape for growing things. Give these invertebrates the
respect they deserve!
Julia Emily Hathaway


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