Picture Books about Gardening
Whether you are planting a family garden this year or working through a printable garden journal with your kids, I’ve got a wonderful list of picture books about gardening for you all to learn from!
We love gardening. Since my kids were little, no matter the size of our yard, we’ve tried to have a garden of some sorts.
Besides the fact that we’ve enjoyed homegrown produce, it’s been a fantastic way for our kids to learn about the plant life cycle, interesting insects, and the benefits of growing our own food.
Along with growing our own garden, reading has also been a huge part of the learning process. With that being said, here are some of our favorite picture books about gardening.
Picture Books about Gardening
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Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
A comparison of things happening above the soil to things that are going on below the dirt. This is a fascinating and beautiful book that covers all sorts of aspects of gardening, including earthworms, burrowing skunks, and ripening vegetables.
We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines
Follow the Gaines family on their gardening journey. From house plant to full-on outdoor garden, learn what it takes to grow a garden. I like the family-centric ideals and that this book highlights the idea of learning from our mistakes.
My Garden by Kevin Henkes
The girl loves her mother’s garden but if she had her own garden she would grow chocolate bunnies, flowers that change colors, and even seashells. This is a simple read, but a great way to get the imagination juices flowing. What would you grow in your garden?
Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
Not everyone has room in their backyard to grow a garden. Follow a little girl and her dad as they plant a beautiful window garden for her mother’s birthday surprise. Very simple text but a wonderful little book, I’ve read this numerous times to our kids.
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
Every year a mother and daughter plant a rainbow-array of colorful flowers in their garden. From planting bulbs and seeds to watering and waiting, follow along as they watch their garden burst into a bunch of bright colorful blooms.
Jack’s Garden by Henry Cole
With repetitive text and colorful pictures, this makes a fun gardening book for early readers. It has the House that Jack built vibes, but with the gardening theme.
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
Go along with Fletcher the fox as he explores and discovers all the beauty that comes along with the spring season. While this is not a particularly a gardening book, it does highlight the new life that comes with growing plants.
The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
A little boy plants a carrot seed, but everyone tells him that it probably won’t grow. Instead of giving up, the little boy does everything he can to take care of it and is able to harvest a giant carrot. From watering to pulling weeds we can learn the benefits of tending plants with patience and determination.
How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
Squirrel teaches ground hog to grow his own garden instead of steal from others. With beautiful, detailed illustrations follow along with Groundhog as he learns to plant, grow, nurture, and harvest his own garden. (My kids really enjoyed this one!)
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
Liam finds an unkept garden in the middle of a dingy city. He decides to nurture it, and the garden’s beauty spreads throughout the city.
The Vegetables We Eat by Gail Gibbons
This is a nonfiction picture book about gardening and vegetables. Learn all about how vegetables grow, and the process they go through to get to our tables. (Pretty detailed for young kids, but still has some useful facts.)
The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Joanna Cole
Ms. Frizzles class learns all about the parts of a flower and how plants grow when they climb into the magic school bus and have an adventure inside of a flower.
The Seed is Sleepy by Diana Aston
With beautiful illustrations and poetic writing, kids will learn about various seeds and plant facts that will expand their knowledge of gardening.
Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson
This is a wonderful book as an introduction to the plant life cycle. Its an easy read and would be great for toddlers through early elementary.
Best Picture Books About Gardening for Preschool
Wanting some picture books about gardening for preschoolers that will hold their attention and keep them engaged? Here are some gardening books for kids(from the above list) that are shorter and geared toward preschooler age. The titles in this list are linked to thriftbooks.com which is one of my favorite thrifty places to buy books online.
Gardening Books for Preschool:
- Plant the Tiny Seed by Christie Matheson
- How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
- The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
- Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
- Flower Garden by Eve Bunting
- My Garden by Kevin Henkes
Picture Books about Gardening for Kindergarten
Whether your kindergarteners are learning about the plant life cycle or are simply interested in gardening, here are some picture books about gardening for kindergarten that you can try. These are titles from the list above that are geared towards this age range.
Gardening Books for Kindergarten:
- The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
- We Are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines
- Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
- How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry
- The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds by Joanna Cole
- The Carrot Seed by Ruth Krauss
- My Garden by Kevin Henkes
You are a wonderful Mom getting the kids into gardening at such a young age Jessica! We are not the best Gardeners we just put in a firepit where our garden used to be! Maybe we will try a raised above the ground garden, see if we have luck with that. Thanks for sharing, Terri xo.
You’re so sweet, Terri! We do enjoy gardening and raised beds are my preferred method as well. Have a great day! ?
Yes we will have to investigate the raised beds Jessica! Have a nice Tuesday , Terri xo.