For all the budding naturalists, environmentalists, and gardeners, we have picture books that explore plants and gardens from every angle. From a simple board book introduction, to picture books about beautiful urban gardens and naturally wild gardens, you’ll love sharing this list with your little ones and watching their appreciation of nature grow.
In this gently rhyming board book, a young boy creates a garden one small action at a time. First, he digs in the dirt and plants seeds, then he adds soil, water, and some patience. With time, the seeds grow and the boy excitedly discovers what he has helped to make. This book provides a perfect sit-in-your-lap reading experience for toddlers.
Amara’s Farm
by JaNay Brown-Wood
illustrated by Samara Hardy
Amara is hosting a potluck for friends on her farm, and her snacks won’t be complete without pumpkins. She’s searched and searched, but she’s grown so many plants that she needs help finding them. What do we know about pumpkins? They’re large, round, and orange—and, wait a minute, is that a pumpkin? No, that’s an apple. Where, oh, where could those pumpkins be? Simple, playful text guides young readers through Amara’s farm, exploring the unique characteristics of the apples, cauliflower, eggplant, okra, persimmons, and more that grow there.
Miguel’s Community Garden
by JaNay Brown-Wood
illustrated by Samara Hardy
Miguel is throwing a party at his community garden for all of his friends, and he needs help searching for sunflowers to complete the celebration. He’s found apricots, artichokes, asparagus, mushrooms, spinach, and more, but still no sunflowers. Can you help Miguel find them in time for his party? Toddlers and preschoolers will delight as they discover the wonders of fresh produce, and after Miguel finally finds the patch of tall, yellow blossoms, a festive celebration ensues at the community garden where a diverse group of friends and Miguel’s two fathers feast on all of the fresh fruits and vegetables.
As he observes his Aunt Lilla work with the beehives on their Lowcountry farm, Henry can’t wait until he can have a bee-suit of his own so he can help with the sister bees. This stunning picture book introduces readers to the world of bees, beekeeping, and bee habitats through a gentle fiction story of a boy whose curiosity will be mirrored by every young reader. This gentle story will be a new favorite for both long-time and new fans of Lester Laminack.
Emmy loves trees. She loves oak trees with acorns. She loves pine trees with cones, and willow trees with swishy branches. But best of all, Emmy loves the mimosa tree that grows in her grandmother’s pasture. So when Emmy decides she wants a mimosa tree of her own for her birthday, she is dismayed to find that many garden stores don’t sell them. Emmy is crushed—until she discovers that the answer to her problem is growing right before her eyes! Mary Ann Rodman’s joyful story will help readers appreciate the natural world around them.
Eloquent and lyrical prose combined with stunning illustrations explore the many ways seeds are distributed and show how elements work together to create and sustain a wild meadow. In the wild garden, many seeds are planted, but not by farmers’ hands. Different kinds of animals transport seeds, often without knowing it. Sometimes rain washes seeds away to a new location. And sometimes something extraordinary occurs, like when the pods of Scotch broom burst open explosively in the summer heat, scattering seeds everywhere like popcorn.
Every morning, Jiva works in his garden until the sun turns as red as a bride’s sari. He plants peas and beans, potatoes and tomatoes, eggplants and okra in his vegetable patch. When his friend Ruvji admires his plants Jiva sings,
Plump peas, sweet peas,
Lined-up-in-the-shell peas.
Peas to munch, peas to crunch,
I want a feast of peas for lunch.
But each time Jiva is ready to pick the peas for his feast, they’re already gone. What has happened? This original story from the award-winning author and illustrator team behind Tiger in My Soup features a deliciously amusing mystery about gardening, anticipation, hard work, and generosity.
One day, Birdman, who sits in his wheelchair all day feeding seeds to the pigeons, fills Rose’s hands with slick, black seeds. He tells her they are magic—if she plants them outside her window they will grow a garden. Her brothers don’t believe, but Rose sets the seeds out and waits. Soon, like Birdman promised, a garden appears before her eyes—a musical flurry of red and yellow and blue, drawn to Rose’s window by seed magic even in the midst of the barren, gray city.
In this informative nonfiction picture book, author Melissa Stewart shares the basic facts about butterflies and introduces young readers to some of the ways human action or inaction can affect butterfly populations. The book also provides pointers on how youngsters can help butterflies thrive in their own neighborhood and will open readers’ minds to a wide range of environmental issues.
Nina Soni, Master of the Garden
by Kashmira Sheth
illustrated by Jenn Kocsmiersky
It’s Take Your Child to Work Day, and Nina, Kavita, and Jay are all going to work with Mom, a landscape architect, to learn how to start a garden. Naturally that’s not enough for Nina, who quickly develops big plans for a business selling the vegetables she plans to grow. But her plans don’t include managing the problems that inevitably arise, including rabbits, slugs, mosquitos, and more! A great read for STEAM enthusiasts.
Find these books and more at your local library, indie bookstore, or Barnes & Noble!