I love, love, love gardening! I think the process of planting and watching seeds grow is renewing and nourishing for our souls. Of course I want my kids to love gardening too, so we found some lovely picture books to get them excited for planting our spring garden! Check out these beautiful picture books and get motivated to start gardening!
This list contains Amazon affiliate links.
How Groundhog’s Garden Grew is my top pick for children’s gardening books! Gorgeous illustrations combine with great themes about hard work and sharing to make this a winner!
Miss Rumphius wants to make the world more beautiful, so she plants lupine wherever she goes. A beautifully illustrated book that encourages you to start planting wherever you are!
![We Are the Gardeners by [Gaines, Joanna]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51FdaXkoETL.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
We Are the Gardeners is a sweet story from Joanna Gaines and family of Fixer Upper fame. The Gaines kids learn lessons about hard work, perseverance, and gardening.
In Whose Garden Is It? the gardener, animals, plants, insects, and weather all make a case for ownership of a beautiful garden. But Mrs. McGee ponders, whose garden is it really? I love that this book gets kids thinking about first causes! My 3 year old immediately said everyone was wrong and it was God’s garden really!
![A Seed Is Sleepy (Nature Books) by [Aston, Dianna Hutts]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51Lqd6YunAL.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
A Seed Is Sleepy is a simply lovely book all about seeds. From the mighty redwood to the sunflower to the mountain laurel, illustrator Sylvia Long makes each species come alive with her talented pen.
![Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt: (Nature Book for Kids, Gardening and Vegetable Planting, Outdoor Nature Book) by [Messner, Kate]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51K57dum2xL.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt is a lyrical, creative book that bounces back and forth to show what’s going on below the soil and above it at the same time.
Bumpety Bump! is a very simply written picture book from Pat Hutchins. There are few words, perfect for the littlest readers. We love this story about a little boy, his grandpa, and a little red hen working in the garden.
Don’t have the space or ability to have an outdoor garden? Flower Garden is the perfect book for you! A sweet little girl helps her father buy the supplies and plant a window box worth of flowers to brighten their city apartment.
Sunflower House is a fun story about children who plant a circle of sunflower seeds to create their own living house! A great idea to try at home if you have the space!
Paddington Bear in the Garden is a cute story about everyone’s favorite affable bear, Paddington, and his attempts to build a garden in the Brown’s yard. With the help of some new friends, he builds a beautiful garden and wins a prize.
The Rose in My Garden starts with a single rose growing. In this cumulative story, a new flower is added to the garden on each page. Great to help children learn to identify flowers!
Each month in Lily’s Garden, Lily describes the work she does in her garden. Each page is decorated with useful information about how to actually garden. Great for slightly older kids who want to understand how to start seeds and plant.
![From Seed to Plant by [Gibbons, Gail]](https://i0.wp.com/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/619suuB56OL.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
For the factual-minded, Gail Gibbons clear illustrations and explanations are the perfect match. From Seed to Plant is a great introduction to seed and plant growth.
In The Tiny Seed, Eric Carle describes one tiny seed’s process of germination, growth, and flowering. Great for helping kids understand the cycle of seed growth and production.
Looking for more great books for Catholic kids? Check out my book lists!
We love our garden, too! I might have to splurge on one or two of these…maybe for Easter? 🙂
Oh wouldn’t that be a fun Easter basket? A gardening book and some little gardening tools and a packet of seeds in a pot?!
I was already considering little gardening tools, so it would be perfect! We usually just do candy and eggs, but this is sooo tempting.
Thank you for this post! Those are some beautiful books. I especially liked the illustration on the “How Groundhog’s Garden Grew”, “Miss Rumphius”, and “A Seed is Sleepy”. I was looking through your blog and from your experience what would you think are some books or stories that need high quality illustrations? I am a Catholic illustrator who has been brainstorming future projects but I wanted it to be something that would be worthwhile.
Patrick, those were my favorite illustrations on this list too! I would love to see retellings of more Saint or Arthurian legends, along the lines of Margaret Hodges’ St. George and the Dragon. I think legends lend themselves well to high-quality, detailed illustrations.
Thanks for your suggestions! Legends would allow for good illustrations and I love Hodges work as well. I’ll definitely keep that in mind as I look for story ideas. If you’re interested I had one idea that I would love to see a blog post sometime. My family often sings songs together using a couple of books. We’ve enjoyed the books “The Glorious American Songbook”, “Carols for Christmas” by the MET, “The Fox Went Out on a Chilly Night” by Peter Spier, and “My Favorite Things” illustrated by Renee Graet. We’ve actually memorized some of the songs through using these books and its brought a lot of joy to our family. Thanks for your help and I look forward to hearing more book suggestions you post in the future.
With our libraries closed during Covid-19, let’s just say…. I purchased several of these books. They were all absolutely charming!! Thank you for your wonderful lists. I can’t wait to dig into the others (pun intended 😉 Our family also loves the living picture book “Tino and the Pomodori” about a young boy growing tomatoes in Italy with his grandfather.
I’m happy you liked the books you purchased! I’ll definitely look into the one you recommend!