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by Sara Stevens Zur (Retold by), Stephen Stirling (Artist)
A French Horn, a Salad, and a Forgotten Toothbrush is the true story about a tomato plant that accidentally grew inside a French Horn. Renowned French Horn player, Steve Stirling was playing his horn one day, when he noticed that something seemed to be stuck inside the tubes. He shook it, turned it over, and shined a light inside of it. Finally, he took a big breath and blew as hard as he could. Out popped a small tomato plant This book explains how this strange scientific surprise occurred. Under my guidance, this book was designed and created by 1st Grade students at the Buckingham, Browne & Nichols School in Cambridge, MA, who heard the story first-hand from Steve Stirling. Their beautiful artwork captures both musical and scientific concepts that this unique story brings together.
As a cross-curricular project, the students learned about the intricacies of how a French horn works, created multiple drafts of artwork with our art teacher, and studied plant growth with our science teacher. They listened to Steve Stirling, the renowned French Horn player, as he told us his tomato plant tale via FaceTime in my music classroom, and asked him questions that helped shape the organization of the book. This strange and true story is brought to life through the diligent work of these students who demonstrate just what a 1st Grader is capable of.
