We are in the thick of springtime chores on our little homestead. Each day I tend to our chickens and the sap collection for maple syrup, and each afternoon my husband works on trimming plant overgrowth and boiling down the sap on our makeshift evaporator. (I’m working on a maple syrup post for next week!)
Between those chores and keeping various animals out of our kitchen, we’ve been staying pretty active this March:
This weekend’s project? Starting some of our seeds! This year, J really wants to have his own little plot to care for. He’ll be joining us to see the seeds from start to harvest.
We’ve been nurturing his early love for gardening by checking out a lot of books on the subject from our local library. He’s so excited about it, and he’s learning a lot as we read together. For this week’s Good Pickins’, I want to share some of our favorite garden books so you can enjoy them with your kiddos too! (This post contains affiliate links.)
1) How Groundhog’s Garden Grew
– When groundhog discovers a beautiful garden in full fruit, he can’t help but partake of the delicious harvest. Squirrel, however, chastises him for stealing from others’ food stores, and insists that he grows his own food if he likes it so much. When groundhog admits that he doesn’t know how to garden, squirrel graciously shows him the ins and outs of how to grow, cook, and share a garden from start to finish.
2) Yucky Worms – Join a little boy and his gardening grandmother as they get their hands dirty learning about worms. This book combines just the right amount of gross-factor and creature fascination to get your child to fall in love with nature’s underground farmers.
3) Mossy
– Jan Brett tells a heartwarming story through beautifully detailed illustrations and a text that invites children to see the world through the eyes of a very special turtle. Mossy is the only turtle I have ever read of who has a garden growing on her shell. An eager biologist, Dr. Carolina, wants Mossy to live in a museum for all to see. But Brett highlights the magic of nature and the importance of conservation by eventually bringing Mossy back to her home pond and her turtle friend, Scoot.
4) Tops & Bottoms 
-An old folktale retold in the context of gardening, Tops and Bottoms tells the story of poverty-stricken rabbit using his wit to outsmart the rich (but lazy) bear. While the story is worth your read any time of the year, it is especially pertinent to gardening time. Rabbit’s cleverness will pique your child’s interest in which parts of plants are the tastiest and most useful, and which parts are less desirable.
5) Growing Vegetable Soup 
– Lois Ehlert once again uses her unique illustration style to capture the wonder of growing your own food. Dad and his child gather their tools, sow the seeds, watch the plants grow, and cook them all into delicious soup at the end. Talk about knowing and valuing where your food comes from!
6) How a Seed Grows 
– This book is like a science textbook on plant germination and growth for very young readers. Children will see and wonder at how small seeds can turn into large and varied plants.
7) The Vegetables We Eat
– The gorgeous illustrations in this book encourage a close look at the amazing vegetables available to nourish our body. Gibbons overviews different types of vegetables, which parts of the plants we eat, and variation within individual species. J particularly liked shouting out whether he was looking at a root, stem, or fruit vegetable. 🙂
8) How Does My Garden Grow?
– Sophie leaves the city to live with her grandparents for a while, and there she learns all about how to grow a garden and enjoy the fruits of her labors. From vegetable families, pollination principles, night and animal life, and the effects of the elements, Sophie gets a full gardening education. Best of all, Sophie begins her own city vegetable garden when she returns home- and teaches her friends to do it too!
9) Planting a Rainbow
– Another Lois Ehlert book for the flower lovers among us. Colorful eye candy inspires readers young and old to plant their own rainbow of flowers to enjoy all season long!
We hope you enjoy this gardening inspiration just as much as your child does!
The above links are affiliate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, I will receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. However, you can and should check at your local library for these titles first! Supporting your local free book distributor is a wonderful thing to do. Thank you in advance for your support for both my blog and your local library. 🙂
