Good Books to Read to Kids To Encourage Gardening

As I prepared for Earth Week and our activities to do as family and share on the blog, as well as planning our our Annual Earth Week Planting Party, I was thinking about books I like to read to my kids to encourage gardening.

My all-time favorite book to reading to them is Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert. Actually, this author has a whole series of good books that encourage children to grow plants (vegetables & flowers), eating fruits & vegetables and planting a butterfly garden.

Another favorite is Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell, even though this is about the fall, it is a good thought to put in their head as they figure out what to do with their pumpkin in the fall and maybe encourage them to save some seeds to plant next year.

If you loved the illustrations of Harold and the Purple Crayon, then check out The Carrot Seed which is by Ruth Karuss, but is illustrated by Crockett Johnson.

And if you are an Eric Carle fan, then we can't forget The Tiny Seed (World of Eric Carle). That is such a wonderful book to talk to children about how Mother Nature works and such a great tool to help explain why there are lettuce plants poking up through our lawn when they were planted in a garden bed last year and then re-seeded themselves in other places. Or to help those adults understand that even though you spray your yard (ack!), you can still get weeds and dandelions.

Finally, for all the Cat in the Hat fans - check out out Oh Say Can You Seed?: All About Flowering Plants (Cat in the Hat's Learning Library). With the new show on PBS Kids, the Cat in the Hat is more popular than ever and kids just love learning from him.

The new books that we are borrowing from the library to read during Earth Week include:
* Wiggling Worms at Work (Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science 2)
* The Earth and I
* Composting: Nature's Recyclers (Amazing Science (Picture Window))
* The Adventures of a Plastic Bottle: A Story About Recycling (Little Green Books)
* One Bean

This post does contain affiliate links which do not affect the purchase price of the book. All thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.