Gardening with Kids

Books about growing and gardening for young readers.

Updated February 19, 2025
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Up in the garden and down in the dirt
Messner, Kate
Paper Book
In this exuberant and lyrical addition to the award-winning Over and Under series, emerging readers will delight in discovering the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves, and down in the dirt. From the author-illustrator team behind...
Planting a rainbow
Ehlert, Lois.
Paper Book
In this perennial classic by Caldecott Honor-winning author Lois Ehlert, little ones learn the colors of the rainbow as they watch a plants grow in a beautifully vibrant garden. Through brilliant, textured cut paper collages, the story follows the progress of a mother and daughter in their...
If you plant a seed
Nelson, Kadir.
Paper Book
The bestselling book about the power of one kind act from Caldecott Medal and Coretta Scott King Award winner Kadir Nelson. "Timeless and delectable."--School Library Journal If you plant a carrot seed . . . a carrot will grow. If you plant a cabbage seed . . ....
We are the gardeners
Gaines, Joanna
Paper Book
Teach children that the greatest rewards come from patience, hard work, and learning from mistakes! In the #1 New York Times bestseller We Are the Gardeners, Joanna Gaines and the kids chronicle the adventures of starting their own family garden. From their failed endeavors,...
And then it's spring
Fogliano, Julie.
Paper Book
Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be...
The curious garden
Brown, Peter
Paper Book
This gorgeously illustrated picture book opens to a detailed spread of a gray city. If you look closely, you can spot the tiny figure of a red-headed boy, Liam, walking down the street. THE CURIOUS GARDEN tells the story of how this young boy discovers a door that leads up to abandoned railroad...
The tiny seed
Carle, Eric.
Paper Book
Read along as a little seed goes on a grand adventure to become a flower in this book and CD package from children's book legend Eric Carle that's narrated by award-winning actor Stanley Tucci. Eric Carle's classic story of the life cycle of a flower is told through the...
My first outdoor garden : everything you need to know to plant and grow your own fruits, vegetables, and flowers
Asseray, Philippe.
Paper Book
Discover the joys of gardening with My First Outdoor Garden, an interactive and illustrated guide for the youngest of gardeners. This book teaches you everything you need to know to succeed in your first foray into raising plants. After following the easy steps,...
Bee & Flea and the compost caper
Humphrey, Anna.
Paper Book
Unlikely bug buddies bring the science of compost heaps to life Bee is spending another beautiful, boring day pollinating flowers in the backyard when a visitor named Flea gallops onto the scene on a dog's back. Flea is the one and only agent of the Fenced-in-Area Law Enforcement Agency...
Backyard adventure : get messy, get wet, build cool things, and have tons of wild fun! : 51 free-play activities
Thomsen, Amanda.
Paper Book
The backyard has long been a space associated with recreation and relaxation, a private patch of earth to escape to, and a springboard for the imagination. In her signature style and drawing on her personal experience as a mother, gardener, and author, Amanda Thomsen encourages kids to create...
Plant the tiny seed
Matheson, Christie.
Paper Book
How do you make a garden grow In this playful companion to the popular Tap the Magic Tree and Touch the Brightest Star, you will see how tiny seeds bloom into beautiful flowers. And by tapping, clapping, waving, and more, young readers can join in the action! Christie Matheson...
In our garden
Miller, Pat Zietlow.
Paper Book
From the New York Times bestselling author of Be Kind comes an uplifting classroom tale about students who create a vegetable garden on their school's rooftop. Millie has recently moved to a new city, from a place more than an ocean away. More than anything she...
The little gardener
Hughes, Emily
Paper Book
There was once a little gardener and his garden meant everything to him. He worked hard, very hard, but he was just too little (or at least he felt he was). In this gentle, beautiful tale, Emily Hughes, the celebrated author ofWild, departs from the larger than life Wild-girl...
The hidden rainbow
Matheson, Christie.
Paper Book
All the colors of the rainbow are hidden in the garden, but can the little bee find them--with help from the reader Christie Matheson, author of the popular and acclaimed Tap the Magic Tree, brings a garden to life in this bright, interactive picture book about the natural...
The story of seeds : from Mendel's garden to your plate, and how there's more of less to eat around the world
Castaldo, Nancy F.
Paper Book
Something as small as a seed can have a worldwide impact. Did you know there are top-secret seed vaults hidden throughout the world? And once a seed disappears, that's it--it's gone forever? With the growth of genetically modified foods, the use of many seeds is dwindling--of 80,000 edible plants...
The flower garden
Kurilla, Renee.
Paper Book
The Flower Garden is a magical graphic novel adventure perfect for fans of Peter & Ernesto or Tiger vs. Nightmare. After planting a seed packet in the backyard, things don't go as expected for best friends Anna and Tess. They fall asleep...
The carrot seed
Johnson, Crockett
Paper Book
From celebrated children's book creators Ruth Krauss and Crockett Johnson comes the beloved classic story The Carrot Seed. When a little boy plants a carrot seed, everyone tells him it won't grow. But when you are very young, there are some things that you just know, and the little...
My garden
Henkes, Kevi.
Paper Book
How does your garden grow A wondrous New York Times bestselling picture book from Caldecott medalist Kevin Henkes. A girl helps out in her mother's garden, but in the garden of her imagination, there are chocolate rabbits, tomatoes as big as beach balls, flowers that change...
Wild
Hughes, Emily
Paper Book
"You cannot tame something so happily wild." In this beautiful picture book by Emily Hughes, we meet a little girl who has known nothing but nature from birth--she was taught to talk by birds, to eat by bears, and to play by foxes. She is unashamedly, irrefutably, irrepressibly wild....

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