Gardens

Grow: A Novel in Verse
by Juanita Havill and illustrated by Stanislawa Kodman

Kate’s Aunt Berneetha wants to start a community garden on an empty lot, and Kate is very excited to be helping her aunt out. They start out by clearing the lot, and then get to work making the rows to plant in. One young man soon joins them in the garden, and then a local doctor donates some tomato plants. Little by little more and more people start working in the garden. Then the city council decides to have a meeting to discuss rezoning the area, and that will end up causing a parking garage to be built where their garden is. Aunt Berneetha decides to fight this decision to sell the land and make it a parking garage, and she needs the help of others in the neighborhood to change the minds of the people who want the parking lot. Will they be able to stop the garden from being destroyed? Can they change the councilors’ and the old owner son’s mind about building the parking garage?

Mrs. Spitzer’s Garden
by Edith Pattou and illustrated by Tricia Tusa

Mrs. Spitzer is a teacher, and every year, the principal gives her a packet of seeds to help grow. Mrs. Spitzer plans her schedule and makes sure she has the tools she needs to help those seeds grow. Mrs. Spitzer takes very good care of her garden by planting the seeds in a good place, watering them, helping them get plenty of sun, and protecting them from weeds and pests. Different plants need different things, and Mrs. Spitzer works hard to make sure that every plant gets the attention that it needs. She continues to care for her garden as the seasons change. Then comes the time that her job is over, but those plants will continue to grow on and on. Next year, Mrs. Spitzer will be ready for some new seeds to grow into plants. What do you think are like those plants? What do teachers usually help make grow?

Rose’s Garden
by Peter H. Reynolds

Rose has traveled all over the world in her teapot, and she has collected seeds from all over so she can remember where she got them. When her teapot became full of seeds, Rose decides to plant a garden. When she comes to a big city by the ocean, she decides to take a look around before planting her garden. While exploring, she found a place in the city that was empty, and she thought that it needed some color. Rose got the soil ready for planting her seeds, but when she got back to her teapot, she found that the birds had eaten most of the seeds. She took the few that were left and planted them, but nothing seemed to come of it. Will Rose’s Garden grow from those seeds she planted? Can she make that empty lot beautiful like she wanted to?

Garden Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Reasons to Get Your Hands Dirty
by Diane Rhoades

This nonfiction book is about starting a garden and taking care of it. There are chapters on how to begin growing a garden, how to design a garden, how to care for it, some easy to grow vegetables and flowers, and seven projects that you can use your garden for. There is also a chapter on how to take of your garden during the months when there are no plants. The projects include creating a bean tepee, making toilet-paper seed tape, creating garden markers, making topiary, making a seed caddy, and some cupcake recipes that you can cook using vegetables, fruits, and flowers from your garden. There is even a recipe to create your own homemade bug spray!