Plant a Seed, Read! | Summer Reading 2026

A few books about gardens, gardening, and (of course) gnomes that tie into this year's summer reading theme.

Updated March 25, 2026
LINCC (Libraries in Clackamas County) Oregon City Public Library
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Gnome
Blunt, Fred
Paper Book
Mr. Gnome is a grumpy little fellow. He's really quite rude and he is definitely NOT cute. So when Miss Witch asks him to kindly stop fishing in her pond, Mr. Gnome is in danger of finding out exactly what happens to gnomes who say "NO!" From author illustrator Fred Blunt comes this laugh-out...

Picture Book (PreK-2)

Gardening lab for kids : 52 fun experiments to learn, grow, harvest, make, play, and enjoy your garden
Brown, Renata Fossen.
Paper Book
A refreshing source of ideas to help your children learn to grow their own patch of earth, Gardening Lab for Kids encourages children to get outside and enjoy nature. This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read...

Children's Nonfiction (Grades 2-4)

Bee dance
Chrustowski, Rick
Paper Book

Children's Nonfiction (PreK-2)

Diary of a worm
Cronin, Doreen.
Paper Book
This is the diary...of a worm. This worm lives with his parents, plays with his friends, and even goes to school. But unlike you or me, he never has to take a bath, he gets to eat his homework, and because he doesn't have legs, he just can't do the hokey pokey-no...

Picture Book (PreK-2)

Parker grows a garden
Curry, Parker
Paper Book
The New York Times bestselling team behind Parker Looks Up returns with this Level 1 Ready-to-Read about the joy of growing a garden. Parker is growing her own backyard garden! She plants tulips with Nana and herbs and vegetables with Mom Mom. After patiently...

Early Readers (Grades K-2)

Marigold Fairy makes a friend
Dennis, Elizabeth
Paper Book
Meet Marigold Fairy and the Flower Wings in this second Level 1 Ready-to-Read in a sweet series that's filled with rainbows, dewdrops, and stories of friendship! Marigold Fairy and her friend Butterfly help keep pests out of the garden in the Land of the Flower Wings. Can a pest...

Early Readers (Grades K-2)

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...

Picture Book (PreK-2)

Monarch butterfly
Gibbons, Gail
Paper Book
Introduce young readers to the fascinating process of how catepillars become butterflies. Follow the transformation from a tiny white egg laid on a leaf to a brilliantly colored butterfly in this kid-friendly introduction to metamorphosis.  With detailed, bright watercolors,...

Children's Nonfiction (PreK-2)

My garden
Henkes, Kevin.
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 color, and...

Picture Book (PreK-2)

Stepping stones
Knisley, Lucy
Paper Book
NATIONAL BESTSELLER . The first book in an acclaimed graphic novel series inspired by the author's own childhood tells an amazing story of unlikely friends, sisters, and home. "Like Raina Telgemeier, Lucy Knisley has a knack for crystallizing coming-of-age anxieties and social...

Young Teen Graphic Novel (Grades 5-7)

Frog and toad together
Lobel, Arnold.
Paper Book
The beloved classic about friendship--a Newbery Honor Book! Frog and Toad are best friends--they do everything together. When Toad admires the flowers in Frog's garden, Frog gives him seeds to grow a garden of his own. When Toad bakes cookies, Frog helps him eat them. And when both...

Early Readers (Grades K-2)

Millie Fleur's poison garden
Mandin, Christy
Paper Book
  A delightfully peculiar story about finding joy in being wonderfully weird. Garden Glen is a very bland place. Every house and every garden looks exactly like the other. That is, until Millie Fleur La Fae comes to town. Up on a scruffy hill, beside a ramschackle...

Picture Book (PreK-2)

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...

Picture Book (PreK-2)

Eliza and the flower fairies
McDonald, Megan
Paper Book
"[A] joyful tale of learning to believe in oneself and rejoicing in magic both grandiose and mundane."--Publishers Weekly From the beloved author of the Judy Moody and Stink series comes the first in a sparkling series of chapter books about a girl whose love for magic...

Bridging Fiction (Grades 2-4)

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 . . . cabbage will...

Picture Book (PreK-2)


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