The Best Children’s Books about Gardening
Instill the value of growing gardens, taking care of nature, and nourishing the soil! Here are the best children’s books about gardening.
Over the last few years, my family and I have been experimenting with gardening in our backyard. We’re “serious” enough to get raised beds and tick off all the right requirements to actually grow food (sun, soil, season, and spacing).
Before that, we’ve had many dismal fails, from growing one measly tomato out of four plants to seeing all our kale seedlings get munched to the ground. But we’ve also had our wonderful surprises, like eating peas fresh from the vine to plucking radishes from the ground.
Even living in an apartment didn’t stop us from learning about gardening and the plant cycle. We planted in containers and grew vegetables in pots along our patio.
Sure, we ended up buying a 12″ pot, two bags of soil, and plant food just to grow one Swiss chard. But that’s what’s awesome about gardening. There’s no “purpose” other than the delight of watching a seed grow into vegetables. The kids get to see the growth process, from seed to harvesting from the soil. They anticipate the day we get to finally reap our produce and start anew.
Every year, I learn something new from our own garden (this year’s lesson: don’t plant summer crops until overnight temperatures are at least 50 degrees!). We’re growing strawberries, blueberries, lemons, and figs. And our vegetable garden will soon be filled with tomatoes, corn, peppers, to include in our recipes.
Plus, here’s the best part: my kids look forward to eating meals cooked with our vegetables. Nothing gets them more excited about eating vegetables than growing and planting them.
Children’s books about gardening
As usual, I like to reinforce what we’re learning with books about the growth of a plant from seed germination to harvest. We learn about the seasons of the year and how they impact our food and gardens. Some gardening books even give tips on just what you need to grow the vegetables you place on your table.
If you’re looking for children’s books about gardening for toddlers and little kids, you’ve come to the right place. Check out my top selections below for young readers.
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Plants Can’t Sit Still by Rebecca E. Hirsch
Plants Feed Me by Lizzy Rockwell
If You Plant a Seed by Kadir Nelson
How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
A Seed Is Sleepy by Dianna Aston
What’s in the Garden? by Marianne Berkes
In Our Garden by Pat Zietlow Miller
Tokyo Digs a Garden by Jon-Erik Lappano
Harlem Grown: How One Big Idea Transformed a Neighborhood by Tony Hillery
The Extraordinary Gardener by Sam Boughton
Grandma’s Gardens by Hillary Clinton
The Forever Garden by Laurel Snyder
We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines
Lola Plants a Garden by Anna McQuinn
Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden by Edith Pattou
How to Say Hello to a Worm by Kari Percival
Goodnight, Veggies by Diana Murray
The Little Gardener Board Book by Jan Gerardi
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
How Does Your Garden Grow? by Holly Hobbie
Diana’s White House Garden by Elisa Carbone
The Gardener of Alcatraz by Emma Bland Smith
The Bear’s Garden by Marcie Colleen
Planting a Rainbow By Lois Ehlert
Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
The Ugly Vegetables by Grace Lin
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
Compost Stew by Mary McKenna Siddals
The Night Gardener by the Fan Brothers
Baby Botanist by Dr. Laura Gehl
The Secret Garden of George Washington Carver by Gene Barretta
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
Gardening Lab for Kids by Renata Brown
Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
Trees, Leaves, Flowers, and Seeds by DK
Butterflies in the Garden by Carol Lerner
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
Nana’s Garden: A Lift-the-Flap Book by Larissa Juliano
Berries, Nuts, and Seeds by Diane Burns
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