My Favorite Children’s Garden Books
A Collection of Children’s Garden Books
“To plant a garden is to believe in tomorrow.” -Audrey Hepburn
There’s no better way to help children appreciate nature than to plant a garden. I’ve learned so many life lessons from spending time in the garden and I’m fortunate that my daughter loves to be outdoors just as much as I do. One way that I’ve tried to teach my daughter about gardening and nature is through the stories we read. I’ve complied a list of my favorite children’s garden books. These books have become family favorites at bedtime and I love how they help children to appreciate and ask questions about gardening.
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Here are some of my favorite Children’s Garden Books:
Gardening LAB for Kids by Renata Fossen Brown
A refreshing source of ideas to help your children learn to grow their own patch of earth, Gardening Lab for Kids encourages children to get outside and enjoy nature. This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read maps to find your heat zone, moving through seeds, soil, composting, and then creating garden art and appreciating your natural surroundings.
Author Renata Fossen Brown guides your family through fun opportunities learning about botany, ecology, the seasons, food, patience, insects, eating, and cooking. The labs can be used as singular projects or to build up to a year of hands-on outdoor experiences. The lessons in this book are open-ended to be explored over and over – with different results each time! Garden Lab for Kids is the perfect book for creative families, friends, and community groups and works as lesson plans for both experienced and new gardeners.
Children of all ages and experience levels can be guided by adults and will enjoy these engaging exercises. So, slip on your muddy clothes, and get out and grow!
Easy Peasy Gardening For Kids by Kristen Bradley
Whether you live in the city or the countryside, there are plenty of places you can plant and grow. For a new generation of green fingers there are different ways to bring nature into the home. Make your own pots, build balcony boxes, create your own bird feeders and even get friendly with worms! Each activity has been carefully chosen to create living, renewable and sustainable environments for kids and their families.
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
The bestselling book about the power of one kind act from Caldecott Honor and Coretta Scott King Award winner Kadir Nelson.
If you plant a carrot seed . . . a carrot will grow.
If you plant a cabbage seed . . . cabbage will grow.
But what happens if you plant a seed of kindness . . . or selfishness?
With spare text and breathtaking oil paintings, If You Plant a Seed demonstrates not only the process of planting and growing for young children but also how a seed of kindness can bear sweet fruit.
A Green, Green Garden by Mercer Mayer
Little Critter learns that planting his own garden is a lot of fun and a lot of work. But the result—a green, green garden—is something he can cherish and enjoy.
Little Critter: A Green, Green Garden is a My First I Can Read book, which means it’s perfect for shared reading with a child.
Oh say can you say Seed? By Bonnie Worth
With the able assistance of Thing 1 and Thing 2 — and a fleet of Rube Goldbergian vehicles — the Cat in the Hat examines the various parts of plants, seeds, and flowers; basic photosynthesis and pollination; and
seed dispersal.
Seed to Plant by National Geographic Kids
Kids see plants, flowers, and trees around them every day. In this lively and educational reader, they’ll learn how those plants grow. Kids will take this magical journey from seed pollination to plant growth, learning about what plants need to thrive and grow with the same careful text, brilliant photographs, and the fun approach National Geographic Readers are known for.
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
With simple language and bright illustrations, non-fiction master Gail Gibbons introduces young readers to the processes of pollination, seed formation, and germination. Important vocabulary is reinforced with accessible explanation and colorful, clear diagrams showing the parts of plants, the wide variety of seeds, and how they grow.
The book includes instructions for a seed-growing project, and a page of interesting facts about plants, seeds, and flowers. A nonfiction classic, and a perfect companion for early science lessons and curious young gardeners.
Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler
Miss Maple gathers lost seeds that haven’t yet found a place to sprout. She takes them on field trips to explore places to grow. In her cozy maple tree house, she nurtures them; keeping them safe and warm until it’s time for them to find roots of their own, and grow into the magnificent plants they’re destined to become.
Eliza Wheeler’s luminous paintings feature gorgeous landscapes, lush foliage and charming details. Her tender story celebrates the potential found in each seed—since even the grandest tree and most brilliant flower had to grow from the smallest of seeds.
Celebrate every season with Miss Maple, from Earth Day to graduations to harvest festivals.
The Berenstain Bears Down on the Farm by Stan & Jan Berenstain
The Bear family is visiting Farmer Ben today. Brother and Sister have so many questions about how the farm works, and Farmer Ben has a lot to teach them. They never knew hard work could be so much fun!
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
A companion to the new Over and Under the Pond and the beloved Over and Under the Snow, this sweet exploration of the hidden world and many lives of a garden through the course of a year “could not be more lovely,” according to the Washington Post.
Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. In this exuberant and lyrical book, discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves…and down in the dirt.
The Little Gardener by Jan Gerardi
It takes more than just seeds and water. Lift the flaps in this bright board book and find out all you need to know in order to create and care for your very own garden!
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
The girl in this book grows chocolate rabbits, tomatoes as big as beach balls, flowers that change color, and seashells in her garden.
How does your garden grow?
We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER
In We Are the Gardeners, Joanna and the kids chronicle the adventures of starting their own family garden. From their failed endeavors, obstacles to overcome (bunnies that eat everything!), and all the knowledge they’ve gained along the way, the Gaines family shares how they learned to grow a happy, successful garden. As it turns out, trying something new isn’t always easy, but the hardest work often yields the greatest reward. There are always new lessons to be learned in the garden!
What do you think of this list of children’s garden books? Do you have any favorites that I may have forgotten? Leave a comment below, I’d love to hear from you! And as always, if you find this post helpful, please take the time to Pin to Pinterest!
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Very nice selection of children’s books. Thank you for sharing!
Thank you! We love reading these books this time of year!
Great suggestions for books. Please consider switching your affiliate links for books to Bookshop.org. They have a generous affiliate fee and purchases support independent bookstores across the US. More information here: https://bookshop.org/affiliate_profile/introduction
Thank you Jenny for this information. I was not aware of this affiliate program. I will get signed up today as I always prefer to support local!