Strawberry Picks!

It's finally here. The short lived and highly anticipated u-pick strawberry season. My favorite early-summer activity ever since I was a child and lost one of my moccasins on a berry picking (or more precisely, eating!) excursion. In anticipation of this year's upcoming trip, I offer a compilation of all things strawberry.

STRAWBERRY FUN FACTS:

• Strawberries are the only fruit with seeds on the outside.
• The average strawberry has 200 seeds.
• Strawberries are a member of the rose family
• If all the strawberries produced in California, in one year, were laid berry to berry, they'd wrap around the world 15 times.
• Strawberries are believed to have been cultivated in ancient Rome, in the 12th Century BC
• A French noblewoman at the time of Napoleon, Madame Tallien, used to bathe regularly in strawberry juice.

BOOKS ABOUT STRAWBERRIES:

The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the Big Hungry Bear, by Audrey Woods (0-4)
The delightfully amusing story of a little mouse who would do anything to protect his precious strawberry, and the big hungry bear who will go to lengths for a taste!


Jamberry, by Bruce Degen (3-6)
A boy and his bear go on a rhyming adventure through the land of berries where strawberry ponies abound, and elephants skate on raspberry jam.




Jam and Jelly by Holly and Nellie,
by Gloria Whelan (5-10)
A young girl and her mother make jam in order to save for a coat to warm the winter commute to school.


Molly and the Strawberry Day, by Pamela Conrad (4-7)
A little girls comes up with some very creative uses for the abundance of strawberries she brings home from the fields.


STRAWBERRY INSPIRED ACTIVITIES:

• Make strawberry jam, strawberry shortcake, strawberry rhubarb pie, or chocolate dipped strawberries.
• Plant your own strawberries in a garden, pot, or window basket. Or, use the prepackages kits sold in stores.
• Draw a gigantic strawberry using paints, watercolors, or markers. Then, look through magazine ads to find a pair of glasses for your strawberry to wear - just like the one from "The Little Mouse, The Red Ripe Strawberry, and the The Big Hungry Bear."

You are now ready to take advantage of the fleeting u-pick strawberry season, armed with stories, fun facts and activities.  And remember, be sure to select shoes that fit firmly on your feet!