Review & GIVEAWAY: The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green

Several months ago, I received an email from Terra Wellington, an author, wondering if I wanted to read and review her book, The Mom's Guide to Growing Your Family Green: Saving the Earth Begins at Home.

I quickly accepted because I was low on books and this one sounded up my alley. But summer came and with it camping trips and lazy days by the community pool and a crazy harvest of tomatoes and I promptly forgot about Ms. Wellington and her book, until last night.

The Mom's Guide is about as thorough a book as I've read on how to live more lightly. Ms. Wellington covers it all and tells it like it is. When I first "went green", no one wanted to tell you that you should stop buying - except maybe Annie Leonard of The Story of Stuff. Instead, it was all talk about green consuming, throwing out the old and replacing it with bamboo or organic. Well, Ms. Wellington doesn't hold back. Buy less, she advises, or buy second hand.

I really enjoyed the garden section. It not only covers greening your lawn, growing your own produce and other "green yard" standards. There's a lot of talk about getting your kids outdoors and getting their hands dirty, which warms any green mom's heart. Moreover, there's some nice tips about inviting wildlife into your yard.

Some of the sections, I felt were very "beginner green". They covered things I had done in my own home right when I first started trying to live more lightly. In addition, I've got a bone to pick with Ms. Wellington over the fact that she listed Target as one of the top four resources for reusables (e.g., reusable bags). Ikea was in the list too. Really!! Target. Certainly she could have found a more environmentally friendly company than Target. Last time I was there, the cashier looked at me as if I had four eyes when I said that I had my own bag.

All in all, though, The Mom's Guide is a useful and thorough book, highly recommended for moms looking to begin their green journey. I rate it 4 out of 5 stars.

If you are interested in winning my (signed) copy of this book, please leave your name in the comments. Winners will be announced on Saturday, September 26.