Gardening

Gr 4–7—Among other benefits, craft books offer great practice for visual literacy and print concepts. Well-designed instructions will reinforce the practice of reading across and then down, and offer visual clues like colors, borders, and graphics for visually distinguishing sidebars and materials lists from procedural writing. This series is a terrific example of all that done right. In addition, it passes the ultimate litmus test for craft instructions—the casting method in Knitting. (Close-up diagrams and useful analogies—"make a little bridge" with the yarn—improve the odds of successfully completing this difficult, abstract process.) Other books combine well-written instructions, digital illustrations, and one photo of each of the 10 to 12 projects per volume. Photography, Gardening, and Sewing rise to the top, while Briticisms in Baking somewhat hinder usage.