The Curious Garden
This book starts out in a drab, gray city where nothing grows. A little boy discovers a garden and starts to take care of it. As time passes, the garden continues to grow, turning the city into a lush, green paradise. I chose this one because it shows why it's good to have gardens.
In the Garden
We chose this one because it makes the link between growing and eating food, and it gives a child a lot of language for things found in the garden (i.e. grapes grow on a vine and I eat them). It's a very simple book - perfect even for a very small child - and it's made from mostly recycled materials.
Jack's Garden by Henry Cole
You know about the house that Jack built? Well, this is the garden that Jack planted. I think it's going to be a big hit!
Sunflower House by Eve Bunting
I like this one because it tells the cycle of plant reproduction in a fun, interesting way. A child plants sunflower seeds in a circle. When the flowers grow, they form a "sunflower house." I'd love to do this at home, so that our kids can have their own sunflower house. At the end of the summer, the child in the story is sad that his sunflowers are dying, but then he discovers they produce sunflower seeds so he can grow a new sunflower house next year!
Wonderful Worms by Linda Glaser
There are a number of books on worms out there, but I chose this one because it seemed age-appropriate for a precocious 3 year old who LOVES her pet worms.
Too Many Zucchini for Zacchary Beany
I totally wanted to get this because it's so cute! Unfortunately, the book's unavailable but it's on my wish list. How great to introduce kids to the universal gardening problem of too much zucchini!
Life in a Bucket of Soil
This book is for our older daughter. The book describes all of the different forms of life that live in the soil. I picked this one because I want our children to understand the importance of living soil. It's going to be difficult for her since she's still a beginning reader, but she'll grow into it.
No Eat, Not Food
This is the story of an alien who comes to earth and asks two kids to "Take me to your feeder!" He wants food but when they give him their food - chips and candy - he says "No eat! Not food!" The kids wonder what food is and follow the alien to the grocery store, a truck, a warehouse, an enormous industrial farm, and ultimately an organic farm near their house to discover what food really is. In the end, they get a CSA from the organic farm and then resolve to teach everyone at their school about food. This is for our older daughter. Our little one is just too young for it. It's kind of in between a chapter book and a picture book. There are some illustrations, but much more words than pictures.
What do you read to your kids to teach them about sustainability, gardening, and healthy eating? |
