Gardening books for children
Spring things: Kite-flying, softball practice, bike riding, and gardening. The last activity may seem somewhat daunting for kids — all that planting, all that weeding — but it's not at all. Children love being active outdoors, and they enjoy learning how things grow.
Gardening books written for kids are a good way to teach them about the pleasures of working the land — even if that land isn't much bigger than a dining-room table. The best books offer simple instructions and appealing graphics that encourage kids to get their hands in the dirt right away. The following volumes will inspire any child who has a seed packet, a spoon, and a sunny day.
KIDSGARDENING: A KIDS' GUIDE TO MESSING AROUND IN THE DIRT
Kevin Raftery and Kim Gilbert Raftery, illustrations by Jim M'Guinness
Complete with seed packets and plastic trowel, this book/kit combines kid-friendly illustrations
with simple gardening activities. The authors also expound on sun,
soil, and nutrients that make the garden a happening place, material
that might interest the older child but could make a 6-year-old
impatient. Within the first few pages, kids can learn how to build a
compost pile and a scarecrow, identify garden bugs, and roast pumpkin
seeds (from their own pumpkin patch). The wipe-clean card-stock pages
and spiral binding make this book easy for kids to use both in and
out of the garden. A-
YOUR FIRST GARDEN BOOK
Marc Brown
Page one: magic beans. Page two: a garden harvest in
three days. Marc Brown, best known for his Arthur series (about an
adventurous aardvark), has succeeded again, with a first-rate
gardening book. The straightforward instructions never talk down to
children, yet include all the information that's essential for
success. Fans of Brown's other books will recognize his reassuring
illustrations. Here the cats, mice, rabbits, and birds show up
throughout, alongside directions for growing ''monster'' plants and
giant sunflowers. A+
THE VICTORY GARDEN KIDS' BOOK
Marjorie Waters
This book accompanies the Victory Garden public television program and offers complete
explanations, drawings, and instructions for serious gardening, all
geared to older children. It even has grown-up reminders like ''Don't
forget to get your soil tested.'' Ample color photographs chronicle
the progress of a real children's garden in photographer Gary
Mottau's yard. B
A VERY YOUNG GARDENER
Jill Krementz
Continuing with her acclaimed Very Young series (A Very Young
Dancer, A Very Young Gymnast), this well-known photo essayist follows
a young gardener as she shops for seeds, plants potatoes with her
father, waters seedlings, and harvests sweet corn. It's a
comforting book for a young child ready to embark on a first
gardening experience, with a simple story line and happy pictures. B+
THE BIG BOOK FOR GROWING GARDENERS
A. Vogel
Short on long-winded discussions about garden preparation, this book gets right to work:
Every page shows an activity that can be done quickly and often with
swift results. Children learn to grow an avocado plant from a seed
and make a delicious avocado dip. From getting bird seed to sprout
to raising peach trees, the book offers an enthusiastic you-can-do-it, it's-easy approach that will appeal to children and
parents alike. The illustrations are just as approachable. Seed
packets and a small trowel that's just the proper size for small
hands are included. A+
LINNEA'S WINDOWSILL and LINNEA'S ALMANAC
Text by Christina Bjork and pictures by Lena Anderson
Windowsill is a delightful story told by a little
girl who grows the fastest bean in town (the scarlet runner) and
holds imaginary Pea Olympics with her peas Split Pea Pete, Green Pea
Polly, and Lentil Larry. Solid gardening information is tucked
between drawings of bugs under a magnifying glass and stories of
outings with the little girl's friend, the appropriately named Mr.
Bloom. In Almanac, the equally delightful companion book, Linnea
opens a bird restaurant on her windowsill and changes the menu of
favorite bird foods (seeds, peanut butter, suet) each month. Both
books: A
A KID'S FIRST BOOK OF GARDENING
Derek Fell
A well-known gardening-book author and former
garden consultant to the White House, Fell now turns his attention to
the youngest generation of gardeners. While the black-and-white
drawings by Jon Snyder don't seem as exciting as the graphics in some
other books, the excellent writing speaks directly to children. Lots
of growing experiments and useful information run between
instructions for raising lavender borders, herbs, and gardens that
will attract butterflies. B
MY FIRST NATURE BOOK
Angela Wilkes, photography by Dave King
This volume from the
award-winning My First series for young children has life-size
photographs of sprouting seeds, budding branches, and bottle
gardens that make this a useful as well as beautiful book. The
activities, which aren't limited to the garden, include
flower-pressing and making bird feeders from kitchen materials. This
is a book that provides an appealing introduction to nature. B+
