Hooray for Orchards!

Steve Pitt is a Toronto-based freelance writer and an award-winning journalist. He has written many young adult and children's books, including Day of the Flying Fox: The True Story of World War II Pilot Charley Fox.

The Hooray for Farming series examines four very different types of
North American farms. The writing is a team effort, with Bobbie Kalman
serving as editor-in-chief. Although all volumes are aimed at a younger
audience, the researchers have obviously worked hard to make both the
prose and illustrations interesting for readers of all ages.

In Hooray for Sheep Farming, for example, even adult readers might be
surprised to learn that sheep have teeth on only one jaw, that donkeys
and llamas sometimes substitute as guard animals in place of dogs, and
that different sheep sometimes wear jackets to keep their wool clean.

Hooray for Diary Farming provides descriptions of milk production from
dewy pasture to Louis Pasteur. There is one minor mistake. At one point
the text states that “[f]armers ... have different names for male and
female cows of different ages.” In fact, farmers have different—and
not always tactful—names for people who mistakenly call male cattle
“cows.”

In Hooray for Beekeeping, Kalman once again reveals little-known facts
about honey husbandry. Readers will learn that bees seem to enjoy a good
smoke, why beekeepers wear white, and how—thanks to their human
owners—some Canadian bees have become accustomed to spending their
winters in Florida and California even though they are not yet retired.

Readers of Hooray for Orchards will learn the difference between pome,
stone fruit, berry, and aggregate fruits, and they will discover how
these many types of fruit are harvested and processed. The issues of
ecology and the dependence of the fruit industry on migrant workers are
also discussed.

All four books are thoughtfully designed and generously illustrated. A
one-page glossary helps young readers remember new vocabulary. Highly
recommended.