Little Green Thumbs: 11 Garden-Filled Picture Books for Spring
Longer days, warmer weather, and a few hardy flowers typically signal the start of spring, which in my family means it’s time to start planning our garden. We head outside to see what damage winter did to our raised vegetable beds and which plants survived the frost. Our garden isn’t huge, just a sunny patch in the backyard, but my son and I enjoy tending it and picking strawberries, cherry tomatoes, and the occasional cucumber. We visit the herb garden before we make salad dressing and pick basil, rosemary, and thyme. It’s a little piece of my Central Pennsylvania childhood transported to suburban New Jersey.
If you have a kid who loves to dig in the mud, plant seeds, or pretend to be a farmer, we’ve got a wonderful collection of books to cultivate their interest in getting their hands dirty. Reading and gardening are both great ways to connect with your kids — and you don’t need acres to do either. Check out these reads to get in the gardening mindset, set aside a sunny patch of ground or fill a container with dirt on your windowsill, and get started!
This list originally appeared on ReadBrightly.com.
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1
Add to BookshelfHope Is a Hop
by Katrina Moore
This beautifully illustrated picture book combines themes of hope, perseverance, and new beginnings. A little girl named Eva works hard in her garden, hoping to create a vibrant, flower-filled haven. But a pesky rabbit eats her flowers, and she almost gives up. However, Eva’s persistence pays off when she makes a surprising discovery about her long-eared nemesis.
(Ages 3 – 7)
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$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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2
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Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies
by Ben Raskin
When I garden, I pay the most attention to the plants, but hidden in the leaves of the edible and decorative flora are the bugs — the tiniest residents of my vegetable and flower beds. You won’t regret spending some time with these itty-bitty denizens of the dirt in this family guide to garden heroes and helpers.
(Ages 4 – 8)
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$16.95Buy from Other Retailers:
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3
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Linh’s Rooftop Garden
by JaNay Brown-Wood
Gardens can grow in many places. In this case, Linh’s garden is on her roof, where she wants to have a picnic with her friends. She hunts through the plants, looking for blueberries to serve her guests. Young readers will love helping Linh search for the blueberries and comparing the fruits and vegetables on each page. Check out the rest of the Where In the Garden? series for more garden-filled fun.
(Ages 3 – 7)
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$8.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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4
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Hello, World! Backyard Bugs
by Jill McDonald
Bugs come in all colors, shapes, and sizes. Do you know what different kinds there are? This colorfully illustrated board book will inspire young readers to explore their backyard gardens and get to know their neighbors that live in the dirt, flowers, and trees!
(Ages 0 – 3)
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$8.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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5
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Seeds
by Carme Lemniscates
Be they seeds that take adventures on the wind or the ones we plant in our own backyards, seeds are inarguably magical, tiny powerhouses. The author of Trees turns her attention — and whimsical illustrations — to the seeds that start it all, and encourages readers to plant their own metaphorical seeds of kindness around the world.
(Ages 2 – 5)
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$16.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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6
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In Our Garden
by Pat Zietlow Miller
Millie is a girl transplanted from the home she knows and loves. She’s surrounded by concrete and longs for the vibrant colors of her family’s old garden. Then Millie has an idea to create a vegetable garden on the roof of her new school! It takes hard work, help from the community, and a whole lot of patience, but soon enough the garden is blooming with life.
(Ages 3 – 7)
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$18.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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7
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Little Honeybee
by Katie Haworth
Insects are an important part of a garden, especially the bees who help pollinate crops. Help your kids appreciate the role bees play in keeping our lives filled with fruits, vegetables, and flowers with this bright and joyous counting book.
(Ages 3 – 7)
Add to BookshelfBoard Book
$15.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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8
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My First Garden
by Livi Gosling
Aspiring gardeners and kids with green thumbs will love this eco-friendly, informational book about planting and caring for a garden. It’s filled with helpful tips on choosing the best plants for beginners, how to care for them, and when to harvest the food you grow.
(Ages 5 – 7)
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$17.99Buy from Other Retailers:
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9
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Grandma’s Gardens
by Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton
In Grandma’s Gardens, mother-daughter duo Hillary Clinton and Chelsea Clinton pay homage to Hillary’s mother, Grandma Dorothy, who passed on her love for gardening to them. It’s simultaneously a tribute to the wonders of nature — where we can learn, make discoveries, and practice mindfulness — as well as a celebration of family traditions that are passed on through generations.
(Ages 4 – 8)
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10
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What’s Inside A Flower?
by Rachel Ignotofsky
“Flowers grow everywhere.” From lush gardens to high mountaintops, they come in many colors, shapes, and sizes. Flowers grow with stems and leaves, but they start from seeds, soaking up rainwater and minerals from the soil. This scientific exploration of photosynthesis and plant growth is a Master Gardener course for aspiring botanists. It’s an absolute standout nonfiction work that feels both fun and informative.
(Ages 4 – 7)
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$8.99Buy from Other Retailers:
