Today we're having for our green books series a cute green picture book for babies and young children:

The Green Eaters - A Dream Comes True

Author: Jennifer Murphy. Illustrated by Mary Deaton.

Jennifer Murphy lives in Chicago with her husband Dan, super spunky daughter Natalia, "Green Eater" son Owen, and crazy cat Diva. Jennifer has had a variety of careers and life experiences. Her love and concern for the lives of farm animals and the future of our environment led to the development of The Green Eaters. Jennifer's mission is to improve the lives of others through her talents, creativity, intuition and knowledge.

Jennifer also designed The Green Eaters as a part of her organic baby/toddler clothing line, Chapter One Organics. Chapter One Organics clothing is made in the U.S. by a manufacturer that trains women facing significant barriers to employment. These individuals learn sewing skills, earn a living wage, learn productive work habits, establish careers, and begin their Chapter One.

Publisher: Trafford Publishing

Published in: November 2007

What it is about: This is the story of five farm animals - Gertie the cow, Curly the pig, Bailey the sheep, Franzy the horse and Plucky the chick. They live in a Dreary Day factory farm and dream of a better future, where they will be able to enjoy the simple pleasures of life like roaming in the green grass (Gertie), fresh grains (Bailey) and even just a nice brush of the mane (Franzy). One day they're all being transferred to an organic farm (The Green Eaters Farm), where, as you can expect, their wishes come true.

Why you should get it: I don't have children yet, but I'm very soon going to become a father and I'm already looking for green stories that would fit babies and this book is a great fit. I find it a fun story, written in rhymes, that helps to simplify and explain young kids the very important issue of organic living and the difference between the life of animals in factory farms and in organic farms. Babies may not be able to fully understand these issues, but for sure they will enjoy the great pictures of Mary Deaton.

I agree with the author who said in an interview that it's important for children to be introduced to this topic "because the children of today are our future" - I think it's a fun and sensitive book that helps kids to get some sense of the issue, which hopefully will be a base for further learning of these issue as they grow up.

The book reports that it is printed using solar and wind power with a minimum use of 30% recycled paper. Also, all of The Green Eaters books purchased through their site and their retailers (except Amazon) are balanced out with Eco-Libris!

What other say about it:
"Reconnecting to Mother Earth and all she has to offer can be made fun through the lens of a child, more specifically in child-like wonder. Miracle workers all have one thing in common; they operate from child-like wonder. It will take miracles to come through many people, to help people stop all the polluting we do; polluting our bodies, our water, our soil, and the planet. The Green Eaters - A Dream Comes True is written in child-like wonder. This is a great book to help people start to heal the way we farm, eat, and generally look at things. God bless Jennifer and her farm friends for bringing light into our lives." Greg Christian, Owner and Chef, Greg Christian Catering, www.gregchristian.com Founder, Organic School Project, www.organicschoolproject.org

“The Green Eaters – A Dream Comes True offers a simple, fun and positive message for children about organic farming!"Harmony Susalla, Founder and Creative Director, Harmony Art , www.harmonyart.com

This green book review was original posted at the Eco-Libris blog.

More resources:

1. The book on Amazon.com

2. The book's website

Back to Eco-Libris green books page