If you’re looking for a brain break, I recommend you check out a stack of picture books and get lost in the illustrations. Picture books about gardening have some of my favorite detailed and colorful illustrations. Below you will find a list of said gardening picture books that are all owned by the Davenport Public Library at the time of this writing. Descriptions are provided by the publishers.
All That Grows words and pictures by Jack Wong
On their neighborhood walks together, a boy learns from his older sister all about the plants they see — magnolias that smell like lemon cake, creeping weeds that used to be planted for decoration, and even how dandelion greens can be eaten with spaghetti! But what makes a plant a flower, vegetable or weed, anyway? How can his sister tell, and how does she know so much?
The boy’s head spins as he realizes how vast the universe is and how much there is to learn … until he resolves to let his knowledge grow in its own way and time, just like the mysterious plants he has decided to nurture in the garden. – Groundwood Books Ltd
Beansprout written and illustrated by by Sarah Lynne Reul
What happens when you do everything right and it just doesn’t work out?
It’s seed-planting time in Ms. Greene’s classroom! One of the kids has big predictions for their mystery seed and does everything just so to make sure it grows. But as all the other seeds start to sprout, theirs . . . doesn’t.
So they proclaim they’ll never try to grow another seed again! But when they learn the leftover seeds will be thrown out, they start to think about second chances and enlists their classmates to help plant a beautiful garden for all to enjoy.
A fantastic social-emotional learning book that’ll inspire conversations about handling disappointment and one’s emotions, while leaving readers with an encouraging and hopeful ending. – Charlesbridge
Benjamin Grows a Garden written by Melanie Florence, illustrations by Hawlii Pichette
Readers follow along step-by-step as Benjamin plants and cares for his garden and imagines the harvest to come.
Benjamin loves springtime. The grass grows bright green, the birds sing sweet songs and, best of all, Benjamin and his mother start their garden. In just the right order, they plant mahtâmin (corn), pîmiciwacis (beans), and osawipak (squash) for Three Sisters Soup. They plant strawberries to serve with bannock, then zucchini, tomatoes, cucumbers. Benjamin and his mom lovingly tend to the garden and watch it grow into a plentiful harvest with enough to share. Throughout the whole summer, Benjamin dreams about the fall, when they’ll have all the ingredients for a feast – and everyone will be invited!
In this heartwarming story, award-winning author Melanie Florence evocatively portrays the pleasures and rewards of growing and sharing food. The steps of the gardening process – digging holes, planting seeds, watering – are carefully described, and the yearly cycle of growing, harvesting, eating and then starting again the next year is emphasized. Special attention is paid to the tradition of planting corn, beans and squash together so that each plant by its nature helps the others grow. Benjamin and his mother use Cree words throughout the story, and a pronunciation guide is included at the back of the book for further inquiry. Vivid illustrations by Hawlii Pichette make this a perfect follow-up to the author and illustrator duo’s previous book, Benjamin’s Thunderstorm. – Kids Can Press
Every Peach is a Story written by David Mas Masumoto and Nikiko Masumoto, illustrated by Lauren Tamaki
In this poignant debut picture book from authors and farmers Nikiko Masumoto and David Mas Masumoto, with illustrations by award-winning artist Lauren Tamaki, little Midori discovers that every peach on her Japanese American family’s farm is a sweet reminder of those who’ve come before
Poetic and powerful, Every Peach Is a Story is a journey of discovery through all of life’s seasons.
One spring day, little Midori asks Jiichan, her grandfather, if the peaches on her family’s farm are ripe yet. To her surprise, he asks, “Does it taste like a story? That’s when you know it is ripe.”
As Jiichan teaches her about her Japanese American heritage and her family’s deep connection to this land, Midori begins to realize the patience, hard work, and endurance that allowed their roots to grow. – Abrams Books for Young Readers
Grandma’s Roof Garden written and illustrated by Tang Wei, translated by Kelly Zhang
Granny may be old, but she’s certainly not feeble – or idle! She’s built a splendid vegetable garden from scratch on the rooftop of her Chengdu apartment building.
She collects thrown-away produce to feed her animals or make compost for the garden.
She waters, weeds, and shows the neighborhood kids how to care for her plants: with love, patience, and pride.
Come harvest time, Granny gathers her fresh produce and cooks up a delicious feast for her friends and family. She even sends them off with extra bags of goodies so people can make their own yummy, healthy meals at home!
Debut author/illustrator Tang Wei creates a love letter to an indomitable grandma of the city, inspired by her own childhood and a beloved relative. Combining a fun, rhythmic text reminiscent of Chinese folk nursery rhymes with earthy, vibrant colored pencil drawings, Wei shows how one person can create a beautiful green space in the heart of the concrete jungle and bring together an entire community. – Levine Querido
Here are the Seeds written by JaNay Brown-Wood, illustrated by Olivia Amoah
This delightfully rhythmic story follows two children as they grow a garden from seeds.
Author and poet JaNay Brown-Wood’s cumulative tale, similar to “The House That Jack Built,” starts promisingly: “Here are the seeds that we will sow to help our garden grow.” But as time passes, the children quickly learn that things rarely go as planned in the garden. Plants will droop without enough sun and wilt without enough water. Suddenly, “OH NO!” becomes the children’s repeated refrain. Eventually, the pair come to see that nature itself provides everything a magnificent garden needs to flourish!
This engaging read-aloud doubles as a child-friendly lesson on what plants need in order to grow. Olivia Amoah’s vivid artwork brings the story to life, particularly on the spreads featuring the refrain (“OH NO!”), where readers can look at the illustrations to try to figure out what went wrong in the garden. The story covers the key elements of what makes a healthy garden, such as soil, sun, bugs, water, mushrooms and worms – and shows how balance is necessary for plants to survive. The back matter includes brief explanations of each of these key elements. This picture book offers excellent life science curriculum connections to the needs of living things, growth and changes in plants and plant life cycles. – Kids Can Press
The Last Stand written by Antwan Eady, illustrated by Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey
Every stand has a story.
This one is mine.
Saturday is for harvesting. And one little boy is excited to work alongside his Papa as they collect eggs, plums, peppers and pumpkins to sell at their stand in the farmer’s market. Of course, it’s more than a farmer’s market. Papa knows each customer’s order, from Ms. Rosa’s pumpkins to Mr. Johnny’s peppers. And when Papa can’t make it to the stand, his community gathers around him, with dishes made of his own produce.
Heartwarming illustrations complement the lyrical text in this poignant picture book that reveals a family’s pride in their work, and reminds us to harvest love and hope from those around us. – Knopf Books for Young Readers
Miss MacDonald has a farm written by Kalee Gwarjanski, illustrated by Elizabet Vuković
In this female-forward spin on the traditional children’s song “Old MacDonald”, readers can join Miss MacDonald on her vegetable farm and see all the work that goes into growing healthy and delicious produce.
“Miss MacDonald has a farm,
She loves things that grow!”
E-I-E-I-GROW! With a “weed-weed” here and a “pick-pick” there, young readers can follow Miss MacDonald as she tends to her vegetable farm. It’s a rollicking, rhyming read-aloud that ends in a community feast and celebrates themes of healthy eating, plant-based meals, local produce, gardening, seasons, and female farmers. – Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Over in the Garden written by Janna Matthies, illustrations by Tisha Lee
Over in the garden, in the weeds, in the sun,
bent a brave little gardener with her little shovel ONE.
In this clever and lively remix of the children’s rhyme, little gardeners come together one by one to tend to a community garden. Young readers will enjoy scenes of digging, weeding, planting, composting, and harvesting, illustrated in lush, detailed scenes full of cozy outdoor joy.
In additional to its gardening theme, it’s also a counting book, and your littlest readers will enjoy counting along from one to ten as all the gardeners come together for a celebration at the finale. There’s so much to love in this exquisite and educational book. – Doubleday Books for Young Readers
Picking Tea with Baba written by Bin Xu, illustrated by Yu Yin, translated by Shan Chen
Usually Baba goes to the tea garden by himself. It’s a special treat to join him.
A young boy and his brother travel with their parents up the mountainside to their tea garden for a day of work.
They delight in the animals they see, compete to see who can pick the most tea leaves, take a lunch break, and weather an unexpected rainstorm. At the end of the day, they trek back down the mountain to sell the leaves before going home.
In this gorgeous picture book that awakens the senses, young kids experience a faraway cultural tradition while feeling the familiarity of family and togetherness. – Charlesbridge
Prunella written by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Claire Keane
When Prunella is born with a purple thumb instead of a green one like her parents, everyone’s stumped. What could it mean? Before long, they find out. Prunella prefers corpse flowers to carnations, fungi to ferns, and poison ivy to petunias. The stickier and scarier the plant, the more Prunella loves it.
And if her poisonous and noxious garden keeps the other neighborhood kids away, it’s probably for the best. But then one day, a curious weed of a different sort pops up…
Should prickly Prunella uproot this tentative new friendship or allow it to flower? – Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Secret Gardeners: Growing a Community and Healing the Earth written and illustrated by Maija Hurme
When three children stumble into an overgrown city yard, they end up elbows-deep in an urban gardening project that replenishes the earth and unites a community.
With the mentorship of Amy, a neighbor who is well-versed in no-dig gardening, Luna, Bianca, and Billy set to work mixing manure, spreading mulch, and sowing seeds. After a few weeks of hard work, the yard is transformed into a sustainable community garden, and more and more people are showing up to grow herbs, mushrooms, vegetables, and fruit. Just when everyone is beginning to harvest their hard-earned local food, they learn that the property is going to be cleared for a parking lot. Will this be the end of their secret garden? Or can the children rally their community to save the day?
In Secret Gardeners, journalist and beekeeper Lina Laurent collaborates with author and illustrator Maija Hurme to tell a story of community solidarity and ecological stewardship. Woven among the dreamlike illustrations are informative notes about soil life, composting, seed starting, beekeeping, wild pollinators, and more. An exquisite blend of fiction and nonfiction that will equip readers with all the information and inspiration they need to begin their own no-dig garden…and maybe even their own community project. – Pajama Press