Outdoor Farm, Indoor Farm
Discover how both outdoor and indoor farms sustainably grow the food we eat throughout the year in this vibrant, rhyming picture book.
Outdoor farm,
tractors toil.
Indoor farm,
zero soil.
With energetic, enchanting verse and sunshiny, colorful illustrations, discover how the food you eat is grown both outside—and inside! Join two children as they explore the inner workings of an outdoor farm and an indoor farm. You’ll see how a variety of amazing machinery like tractors and drones along with innovative farming techniques yield the wonderful food we all love to enjoy.
Written by Lindsay H. Metcalf, Illustrated by Xin Li | Astra Young Readers ISBN: 9781635923841 | 32 pages | ages 3-7
Available now!
Praise
Green Earth Book Award Recommended Reading, Picture Book—Primary
Junior Library Guild selection
2025 Book of the Year, Virginia Agriculture in the Classroom
2025 Book of the Year, Oregon Agriculture in the Classroom
Texas Library Association 2×2 Reading List
Keystone to Reading Elementary Book Award, preschool list nominee, Pennsylvania
Reading Circle Recommended Title, Kansas chapter, National Education Association (KNEA)
“A captivating glimpse into the shifting agricultural landscape.” —Kirkus
“A wonderful resource for children interested in farming.” —School Library Journal
“An adorable book . . . takes readers on a journey about how their food is grown, both inside and outside.” —American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture
Extras
- Book trailer (YouTube):
- Activity Kit: Simple Hydroponic Garden activity and Word Search, Crossword, Vocab, and Pen Pal printables (free)
- Lesson Plans (North Carolina Ag in the Classroom, free)
- Educator’s Guide ($5, American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture)
- Wheat harvest on Author Lindsay Metcalf’s family farm (YouTube)
- Lettuce production in the Salinas Valley (YouTube)
- BrightFarms virtual field trip (Vimeo)
- AeroFarms 360-degree tour (YouTube)
- Interactive, Up-close Look at a Combine (American Farm Bureau Foundation for Agriculture)
- Farm Pinterest Board
- KPR interview with Lindsay about the book
- Poetry and Nonfiction: How Does That Work? (Nonfiction Fest)
- How I developed the text for OUTDOOR FARM, INDOOR FARM (via Nerdy Book Club)
