Reading into Ecological Stewardship: A Survey of Earth Day Book Covers
Cover Art by Holly Young, 2021.
In celebration of Earth Day, Elizabeth Carls of Saint Paul based Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply gathered a selection of books spanning multiple genres including cookbooks, gardening how-to books, children’s books, and a novel. The common thread knitting this diverse group of reading together is how each title demonstrates the evolving relationship that gardeners and urban homesteaders have with the environment and the greater-than-human world. Through this, this survey of books celebrates a community that values localism, sustainability, food sovereignty, and good ecological stewardship.
Storey Country Wisdom Bulletins by various authors
(Storey Publishing, North Adams, MA, 1979 -)
Cover by Elayne Sears
Storey Publishing is known for their focus on publishing “practical books for creative self-reliance”. The Storey Country Wisdom Bulletins have been produced for more than 40 years and the entire collection includes over 170 titles each covering a specific topic of interest to gardeners, home cooks, and homesteaders, such as Grafting Fruit Trees, Berries Rasp- & Black, and Making Cheese, Butter, & Yogurt. Each bulletin is written by a different author, but most include cover art and interior illustrations drawn by artist, Elayne Sears. The bulletins are quintessential artifacts of practicality—produced as simple staple-bound pamphlets packed full of can-do attitude and country wisdom.
Weeds of Minneapolis vol. One June by Sara Nelson
(Sara Nelson, Minneapolis, MN)
Cover by Sara Nelson
A DIY celebration of weeds, those often-overlooked wild plants that proliferate in our landscape. Nelson’s self-published handbook of local wild plants is a beautifully photographed, staple bound, pamphlet style zine. Each entry includes the Latin binomial, common name, as well as the plants status as an edible or its usefulness as a medicinal. Weeds of Minneapolis is a true labor of love and ode to local weeds.
Seed to Seed 2nd Edition, by Suzanne Ashworth
(Seed Savers Exchange, Decorah, IA, 2002)
Distributed by Chelsea Green Publishing
Cover by David Cavagnaro
Seed to Seed is considered to be the first and foremost comprehensive guide to saving seed. Published by Seed Savers Exchange, a non-profit organization whose mission is to steward a large collection of heirloom seed, and preserve the irreplaceable genetic diversity of the seeds that protect our food system. Written by Suzanne Ashworth who is an avid gardener and longtime member-volunteer of Seed Savers Exchange, Seed to Seed offers growing and seed saving techniques for 160 food crops, each of which Ashworth has personally trialed in her own gardens. The cover and interior photography were done by visual artist, David Cavagnora, who was also the farm manager at Seed Savers Exchange Heritage Farm in Decorah, Iowa for eight years. The book, like the efforts to preserve the genetic diversity of heirloom seeds, was a truly grassroots effort.
All in a Day by Cynthia Rylant
(Abrams, New York, NY, 2009)
Cover by Nikki McClure
This beautiful children’s book is a collaboration between Newbery Medal winning author Cynthia Rylant and acclaimed paper-cut artist Nikki McClure. McClure, known by many for her annual calendar, frequently creates art that reflects her deep connection to the natural world, and the simple pleasures of a sustainable life. The story follows a boy and his pet chicken as they move through all the possibilities and wonders a single day has to offer. Rylant’s lyric prose and McClure’s finely crafted cut-paper illustrations are the perfect vehicle for the book’s message of making the most of each day and being a good steward of the Earth.
The Drunken Botanist by Amy Stewart
(Algonquin Books of Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 2013)
Cover by Tracy Sunrize Johnson
Plants—a source of food, medicine, and booze for the entirety of human history. In The Drunken Botanist, award winning author, Amy Stewart explores the rich botanical history of spirits with the same quirky sense of humor she brings to her previous books. The book includes gardening tips and more than fifty drink recipes, in addition to the insightful science and history of the plants we drink. Designed by Tracy Sunrize Johnson, the cover evokes the letterpress art of an old medicine show broadside, while the interior pages have the look and feel of an Old Farmer’s Almanac both well-suited for the book’s sometimes bizarre historical perspective. The Drunken Botanist is a captivating cocktail of science and history.
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer
(Milkweed Publications, Minneapolis, MN 2013)
Cover by Mary Austin Speaker
Published locally by Milkweed Editions, Robin Wall Kimmerer’s collection of essays Braiding Sweetgrass amplifies indigenous voices and brings traditional ecological knowledge (TEK) to the mainstream. As a scientist, professor of botany, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation, Kimmerer writes with a unique perspective about the teachings of plants and the natural world, guiding readers towards an ecological awareness that will deepen and improve their relationship to the greater-than-human world. The cover was designed by Mary Austin Speaker, poet, book designer, and current Creative Director at Milkweed Editions. Featuring a photograph of a single braid of sweetgrass, the clean, sparse design of the cover mimics Kimmerer’s unpretentious and approachable voice. Braiding Sweetgrass forever changed the genre of nature writing.
Sonya’s Chickens by Phoebe Wahl
(Penguin Random House Tundra Books, New York, NY, 2015)
Cover by Phoebe Wahl
Winner of the Ezra Jack Keats Book Award, Sonya’s Chickens is the creation of author and illustrator, Phoebe Wahl. Wahl’s work is largely focused on the themes of home comforts and a closeness with nature. Sonya’s Chickens is a beautifully illustrated story about love, the circle of life, and the interdependence among all living beings. It tells the simple story of a young girl’s chicken who is stolen by a fox. The book’s illustrations were created using watercolor, color pencils, and collage with a warm color palette and a folk-art style.
The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen by Sean Sherman with Beth Dooley
(University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, MN, 2017)
Cover by Christopher Kornmann
Winner of the James Beard Foundation Book Award for Best American Cookbook, The Sioux Chef’s Indigenous Kitchen offers not only delicious recipes, but an education in Indigenous American ingredients and cuisine. The recipes in the book feature locally sourced and wild ingredients such as venison, beans, amaranth, wild rice, and abundant foraged fruits and herbs. There are no European staples—such as wheat, sugar, dairy, or pork included in the book. Sherman, born in Pine Ridge, SD is the founder and CEO of Minneapolis based The Sioux Chef, an organization dedicated to reclaiming the culinary culture of Native peoples of the Dakota and Minnesota Territories, and making indigenous foods accessible. The Sioux Chef group also founded the nonprofit North American Traditional Indigenous Food Systems (NATIFS) to foster the development of Native food enterprises in tribal communities. This break-out cookbook features cover design by Minneapolis based Art Director and Graphic designer, Christopher Kornmann.
Farming While Black by Leah Penniman
(Chelsea Green Publications, White River Junction, VT, 2018)
Cover by Nikki Pressley
Leah Penniman is co-founder and farm manager of Soul Fire Farm, an Afro-Indigenous community farm dedicated to food justice, sustainable agriculture, and food sovereignty. The organization seeks to increase land stewardship, promote equitable access to food, and train a new generation of Black and Brown activist farmers. The book, Farming While Black, is a truly one-of-a-kind manual offering practical guidance on all aspects of small-scale farming for African-heritage people including writing a farm business plan, land acquisition, preserving the harvest, seed saving, raising livestock humanely, and honoring the land. The cover features an original work by artist, farm advocate, and farmer, Nikki Pressley.
The Seed Keeper by Diane Wilson
(Milkweed Publications, Minneapolis, MN 2021)
Cover design by Mary Austin Speaker
Cover Art by Holly Young
This debut novel by local author, Diane Wilson won the Minnesota Book Award for fiction in 2022. It is a simultaneously heartbreaking and hopeful story that weaves the voices of four women on the weft of history and storytelling. Rosalie Iron Wing is a Dakhóta woman who, newly widowed, returns to her childhood home seeking a connection to family, her past, and lost traditions. Along the way she discovers what it means to be a descendent of several generations of women who preserve a relationship with their ancestors through a heritage of seeds. Wilson is the former Executive Director of Dream of Wild Health, an Indigenous non-profit farm, and has been a longtime advocate for indigenous food sovereignty. In this beautifully written novel, she gently reminds readers to reconsider our food-systems and the importance food sovereignty. The cover art features traditional beadwork by Dakhóta artist, Holly Young.
The Forager Chef’s Book of Flora by Alan Bergo
(Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, VT, 2021)
Cover by Alan Bergo
Alan Bergo is a James Beard Award winning chef and cookbook author. With years of experience in the kitchen and extensive research into ethnobotany and the historic use of wild plants, Bergo created The Book of Flora to inspire a reawakening of the traditional knowledge we as a society have lost in our current industrial food system. All the book’s photography, both on the cover and in the interior, is credited to Bergo himslef. Like so many contemporary cookbooks, The Book of Flora was borne from the author’s website which he also writes, photographs, and designs himself. The book offers techniques and recipes that will change how readers view weeds—the wild edible plants abundant in the landscape and available to all.▪︎
Egg|Plant Urban Farm Supply is your source for backyard homestead gear, from chicken-keeping to seed-starting to cheese-making and fermentation. They have been inspiring and supporting small-scale urban farms and gardens in the Twin Cities since 2010.
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