In the forests and fields, beside rivers and creeks, under the earth and hidden in trees, food is waiting to be found … if you know where to look!
Follow the footsteps of our ancestors as they head out on the quiet hunt, looking for roots and leaves, mushrooms and berries, fruits, flowers, nuts and seeds. But foraging is about more than just food – our ancestors also helped spread seeds and spores, took only what they needed, and gave thanks to the plants and animals that sustained them. Today, in our cities and towns, the quiet hunt looks a little different. But we can still gather our tools and follow the paths our ancestors took to find what grows in our own backyards.
This lyrical story-poem from award-winning author Jean E. Pendziwol is a celebration of foraging that inspires an appreciation of found food, encourages our connection with nature and sparks our awareness of responsible environmental stewardship.
Key Text Features
illustrations
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
In the forests and fields, beside rivers and creeks, under the earth and hidden in trees, food is waiting to be found … if you know where to look!
Follow the footsteps of our ancestors as they head out on the quiet hunt, looking for roots and leaves, mushrooms and berries, fruits, flowers, nuts and seeds. But foraging is about more than just food – our ancestors also helped spread seeds and spores, took only what they needed, and gave thanks to the plants and animals that sustained them. Today, in our cities and towns, the quiet hunt looks a little different. But we can still gather our tools and follow the paths our ancestors took to find what grows in our own backyards.
This lyrical story-poem from award-winning author Jean E. Pendziwol is a celebration of foraging that inspires an appreciation of found food, encourages our connection with nature and sparks our awareness of responsible environmental stewardship.
Key Text Features
illustrations
Correlates to the Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts:
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1
With prompting and support, ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4
Ask and answer questions about unknown words in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7
With prompting and support, describe the relationship between illustrations and the story in which they appear (e.g., what moment in a story an illustration depicts).
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1
Ask and answer questions about key details in a text.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
Identify words and phrases in stories or poems that suggest feelings or appeal to the senses.
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7
Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters, setting, or events.
| Published By | Groundwood Books Ltd — Mar 3, 2026 |
| Specifications | 32 pages | 9 in x 9 in |
| Written By |
JEAN E. PENDZIWOL is the author of Skating Wild on an Inland Sea, illustrated by Todd Stewart (Governor General’s Literary Award, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award). She has also written When I Listen to Silence, illustrated by Carmen Mok; I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, illustrated by Nathalie Dion; and Me and You and the Red Canoe, illustrated by Phil. She lives in Northwestern Ontario, on the shores of Lake Superior. |
| Illustrated by |
RISA HUGO is an illustrator whose picture books include Why Are You So Quiet?, written by Jaclyn Desforges; Leopold's Leotard, written by Rhiannon Wallace; Métis Like Me, written by Tasha Hilderman; and Shadow, her authorial debut. Risa has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She spent most of her childhood living between Canada and Japan, and currently lives on a small farm located in the Southern interior of BC with her husband and three sons. |
| Written By |
|
JEAN E. PENDZIWOL is the author of Skating Wild on an Inland Sea, illustrated by Todd Stewart (Governor General’s Literary Award, the TD Canadian Children’s Literature Award and the Elizabeth Mrazik-Cleaver Canadian Picture Book Award). She has also written When I Listen to Silence, illustrated by Carmen Mok; I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree, illustrated by Nathalie Dion; and Me and You and the Red Canoe, illustrated by Phil. She lives in Northwestern Ontario, on the shores of Lake Superior. |
| Illustrated by |
|
RISA HUGO is an illustrator whose picture books include Why Are You So Quiet?, written by Jaclyn Desforges; Leopold's Leotard, written by Rhiannon Wallace; Métis Like Me, written by Tasha Hilderman; and Shadow, her authorial debut. Risa has a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Emily Carr University of Art and Design. She spent most of her childhood living between Canada and Japan, and currently lives on a small farm located in the Southern interior of BC with her husband and three sons. |
| Audience | ages 3 to 6 / grades P to 1 |
| Key Text Features | illustrations |
| Common Core |
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.4
CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.1 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.1 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.1.7 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.4 CCSS.ELA-LITERACY.RL.K.7 |