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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 (Klutz Press, $12.95, all ages) 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 (Little, Brown, paper, $5.95, ages 4 to 8) 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 (Houghton Mifflin, hardcover $21.95, paper $12.95, ages 8 and up) 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 (Dial, hardcover, $13.95, ages 4 to 7) 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+
