Do you know what was Thomas Jefferson’s most delightful work…beyond architecture, inventing, founding the University of Virginia, and being the third president?…His thousand-foot-long vegetable garden.  In this school garden story, a classroom teacher replicates Thomas Jefferson’s annual neighborhood pea growing contest.  The winner was the person with the fastest growing seeds…serving their “sweet as candy” peas at a celebration party.  Two girls research agricultural practices to help their individual pea crop grow the fastest and experience the ups and downs typical of scientific experiments.  The author weaves historical and agricultural information into this lighthearted story without being overly didactic.  The charming watercolor illustrations show a class of multiracial students, however, the boys are depicted as “goof offs” (sticking out a tongue at someone, taunting a girl with a worm) in the periphery of the illustration, while the girls are doing the serious work.  Wonderful Afterword in the back matter explains more about Jefferson and his contest. Bibliography , Websites, and Page Notes included.