These books are designed to present information about resource-based industries to kids in Grades 2 to 4. In both, the mainly expository writing is framed by a narrative. In Forestry, a boy named Cameron is taken by his forester uncle to a company town that contains a pulp mill and a saw mill. During a helicopter ride, they see various aspects of forestry, including logging, silviculture, reforestation, fire fighting, the milling of logs into timber, and paper making. In Farming, cousins Nick and Karin compare the farms they live on. Nick’s family owns a vegetable farm, while Karin’s runs a beef cattle operation. On the vegetable farm, we see the greenhouse, soil preparation, planting out, cultivation, and harvesting of onions. The authors focus on a single crop, wisely avoiding the confusion that would result if they tried to explain many different types of cultivation. At the cattle farm we see herding, fencing, calving, and branding.

There’s a lot of detailed, practical information about forestry and farming here. The narrative framework is designed to make this information easier to digest. This device works better in Farming than in Forestry simply because it is more fully developed in the former book. Cameron and his uncle hardly impinge on Forestry. Long, expository passages carry on with virtually no dialogue. But in Farming, the two cousins banter back and forth, engaging in a friendly argument about which type of farm is better. Farming contains just as much information, but the well developed fictive aspect of the book makes it more accessible.

Authors Jane Drake and Ann Love, sisters who co-authored The Kids Campfire Book and The Kids Cottage Book do not shy away from the sticky environmental issues raised by forestry especially. Most companies do clearcut, and clearcutting poses a number of threats to the environment, as do the chemicals released by pulp mills into waterways. Drake and Love do not mince words on these issues, but they fail to mention that Canada lags far behind European countries in dealing with these problems. Pat Cupples’ cheerful, colourful illustrations are labeled to draw attention to tools and equipment. Overall, the illustrations help to illuminate the processes described in the texts.

Children will come away from both books with a realistic understanding of what it is like to be employed in these occupations. Those who live in communities founded on farming or forestry will probably appreciate the fact that this work is presented in an accurate, serious manner. Kids who live in cities will realize that many Canadians still find a livelihood in industries based on natural resources.