Great Garden Reads for Children

Credit: iStock / mashabuba

Seeking the perfect gift for little gardeners? The Master Gardeners Association of B.C. recommends giving one of these gardening books for kids.

And, while you’re at it, why not initiate the kids in your life into the gardening lifestyle? I-O-U vouchers for gardening lessons, entomological expeditions and birding sessions can do wonders to pique the interest of curious young minds and offer great opportunities for quality time.

In My Backyard
by Margriet Ruurs
Tundra Books, 2007, hardcover, 32 pages, $21.99
Ages 4–8

This book describes the wildlife you can find right out your back door and the plants you can grow to encourage bugs and other creatures to live in your backyard. Find the ladybug in each illustration, along with a hidden animal, which is then featured on the next page. Illustrated with beautiful paper sculptures by Ron Broda.

The Butterflies’ Promise
by Julie Ovenell-Carter
Annick Press, 1999, paperback, 32 pages, various prices
Ages 4–8

Grandpa has to leave his beloved butterfly garden and live in a nursing home. With the imagination of his granddaughter, the family builds a wheelchair garden that can be tended with special tools, and the butterflies once again visit. The book contains a page of practical information for readers on how to attract butterflies to their own gardens. Illustrated by Kitty Macaulay.

This book is out of print, but you can find new and used copies at various prices online through Abebooks.com or Amazon.ca.

I Found a Dead Bird: The Kids’ Guide to the Cycle of
Life and Death
by Jan Thornhill
Maple Tree Press, 2007, 64 pages (hardcover) $21.95
Ages 9–13

From life spans to how things die to what happens after death to how we mark and cope with death, Jan Thornhill takes a comprehensive look at the end of life. The dynamic brightness of the design engages readers on every spread. Winner of the Children’s Literature Roundtables of Canada Information Book Award for 2007.

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