home, making booklist: secret garden

Spring, sprang sprung! Gardening and yard ideas don’t need much of an introduction in these sunny, sneezy days. But also - don’t forget the magic and stories that grow alongside the plants and animals. The garden provides fertile ground for vegetables and tall tales alike! Here are some great books about getting down in the dirt:

The Imperfect Garden by Melissa Assaly

Part of interest in gardening comes from seeing your plants grow the fruits and vegetables you’ll eventually eat. Kids see those veggies everywhere, especially in stores. But what about the lumpy ones, the crooked ones, the bent ones that don’t look like models from the produce aisle? Well, they are just as delicious! Don’t be worried if you’re growing food in an imperfect garden. Plenty of tips in this book to get you started or keep you going.

The Magic Garden by Lemniscates

The magic of the garden is there whether you notice it or not. But when the wind whispers to young Chloe, she starts to see what’s happening around her. The details of plants, the small interactions, the architecture of what grows, it’s all there. The fanciful collage illustrations are resonant with the layering that characterizes the garden ecosystem.

The Sprite and the Gardener by Rii Abrego

The graphic novel/comic book format justly allows Rii Abrego’s artwork to spread out, like a garden itself. You’ll follow the curious Wisteria, a sprite, as she learns the story of how her folk used to care for gardens, largely now looked after by humans. Inspired, Wisteria decides to try her hand at breathing some life into the flowers. Her perfect opportunity comes when she finds a gardener who could really use a hand.

The Flower Garden by Renee Kurilla

Talk about getting down in the dirt! Anna and Tess fall asleep after growing impatient waiting for flowers to grow. When they wake up they discover the plants have indeed grown - to enormous sizes! Or…have they shrunk? What lies underneath the petals of the daisies and lilies? What calls the tunnels underneath a garden home? Is it a safe place to explore?

And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano

A relative oldie, but for me a goodie. A boy eager to see the spring bring it’s green plants when everything around is still brown. Aaaaaaand - nothing happens. Did something go wrong? Not necessarily! It can feel slow, so slow that nothing is happening. But little by little you start to see signs here and there. Then you see green start to take over the brown more and more - and then it’s spring.