Sometimes getting children excited about gardening is like pulling teeth. Sometimes. It totally depends on the kid… Sometimes they are all for jumping in; digging, planting, weeding, picking everything. But sometimes, they need a little inspiration to propel them. For the less enthusiastic, we need to paint a world of gardening so fantastical that they actually beg us to garden. Yep, its possible. Maybe underneath the magic of inspiration it is really plain old trickery, but I think I’m OK with that. If the child starts gardening and loves it, then we are good!
‘Tis the Season
In our home I’ve been talking up the garden for months already. I’ll share all the different ways I do that in another post, but for today, we’ll just focus on the books that can help.
If you’re not sure where to start to get inspiration, here are some fantastic children’s picture books that can get you started. Check them out at your library or click on the book picture for a link. Age recommendations vary – you can check the link for each specific book if you want details.
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Awesome Garden Picture Books
Starting with the wonder of spring, And then it’s spring is about a little boy that’s waiting for plants to grow. In the modern world of “now” and “right now” gardening introduces the beauty of patience and waiting. Here, a young boy plants seeds and then wonders if the plants are going to come up. Great book to help young children understand the process of growing things!
Following on with the same feel Mama, is it Summer Yet? will help to deepen a child’s understanding of the patience needed to wait for the growing season. This sharply illustrated book goes a bit further as a child explores the signs of summer coming in nature.
A Seed Is Sleeping goes a even further into what is happening as the seasons transition. This book gives more detailed facts about seeds but keeps things light through beautiful illustrations and description.
This one is a favorite in our house. OK, maybe a favorite for me. The Gardener a story of a girl that goes to the city with seeds. She works their magic and brings transformation to her little world. I won’t spoil it by explaining further. Let’s just say it will inspire your kids to dream big garden dreams – magical!
If you are looking for another book for a city kid to identify with, then How Does My Garden Grow is a good one. It’s about a girl who lives in the city but goes to visit her grandparents who have a garden. There she begins the process of discovering where food actually comes from. No, it doesn’t magically appear in the grocery store. Someone, somewhere grew it! Children get to discover along with her how their food grows!
What a neat book. A Year in Our New Garden follows a family as it moves to a new home and gardens there in a variety of ways. Super inspirational , it shows kids all the ways to garden (it’s not just about vegetables!).
Here is some inspiration to keep at it because finishing strong is most of the gardening battle! Two Little Gardeners is about a boy and girl that diligently work their garden and harvest the results.
A garden is not complete if you don’t get to celebrate the harvest! Be sure to include a book that really shows that all the hard work pays off. Fall Harvests: Bringing in Food will get you started. A factual, fun book on harvesting the fruit’s of your (or your kids) labor.
These are just the books that we’ve found so far. I’m super excited to discover more books on gardening. Do you have any suggestions to ad to the list? What are your family favorites? Please let me know in the comments below!
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