Nina Soni: Master of the Garden

Nina Soni: Master of the Garden (Book 3 in a series) by Kashmira Sheth; illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky 192 pages

Nina Soni, an Indian American fourth graders living in Madison, Wisconsin, is so excited. It’s “Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day.” Her mother is taking her, her little sister, Kavita, and her best friend, Jay, with her to teach them how to plant a garden. She is a landscape architect.

Naturally (no pun intended), Nina wants to start her own garden at home. Her mom helps the three get the soil ready and plant their crops. Nina soon learns that starting a garden isn’t as easy as it sounded. Thankfully, she is a great list maker, using her journal to help keeps the process straight. Only trouble is, she doesn’t list all the steps, instead trying to keep them in her mind.

Nina, an entrepreneur at heart, dreams of growing huge amounts of vegetables and selling them to the neighbors, making a lot of money. Thanks to her big-mouthed little sister, before she can share her plans with Jay, he learns about them and his feelings are deeply hurt. Nina must find a way to apologize, but so much is distracting her.

Her biggest worry is the pests that have invaded her part of the garden.  Why hers and not Jay’s, or Kavita’s? 

Like the previous titles, this book is filled with STEAM lessons that are fun and simple. It’s the perfect time of year to get your daughter or son out of the house and learn to garden! Although I did not find this book as engaging as the other two, “Nina Soni: Master of the Garden” receives 3 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world.