Librarians' Picks

Selected Reading Unearthed from the Youth Collection
Ann Arbor District Library

Table of Contents

1. Picture Book Pickings
2. Blue-Ribbon Fiction
3. In the Rows of Nonfiction

• Jump to the links at the bottom of this page

Carlstrom, Nancy White. Moose in the Garden. 1990.

A young child is delighted when Papa moose visits the garden and eats almost all the vegetables.
E CAR

Ehlert, Lois. Growing Vegetable Soup. 1987.

Dad gets a lot of help as he sets out an array of seeds, plantlets, and tubers for his favorite soup.
E EHL

Ehlert, Lois. Planting a Rainbow. 1988.

A mother and daughter plant a colorful flower garden together.
E EHL

Fife, Dale. Rosa's Special Garden. 1985.

Four-year-old Rosa, instead of growing plants, decides her garden will be a place for animals to visit.
E FIF

Greenstein, Elaine. Mrs. Rose's Garden. 1985.

When Mrs. Rose grows a crop of vegetables guaranteed to win all the blue ribbons at the County Fair, she is inspired to do a generous act.
E GRE

Hall, Zoe. It's Pumpkin Time. 1994.

Two children wait and wait for the little pumpkin seed to grow into a big fat pumpkin.
E HAL

Keller, Beverly. The Beetle Bush. 1976.

A little girl is convinced she is a failure at everything she tries--until she begins a garden.
(EASY READER SECTION)

Krauss, Ruth. The Carrot Seed. 1945.

A little boy learns that with patience and care a little carrot seed will actually produce a gigantic carrot.
E KRA

Maris, Ron. In My Garden. 1987.

A girl counts the objects, animals, and friends she enjoys seeing in her garden.
E MAR

Nikly, Michelle. The Emperor's Plum Tree. 1982.

Little Musuko's nightingale friend loves his home when his plum tree is chosen to replace a dead one in the emperor's garden.
E NIK

Rockwell, Anne. How My Garden Grew. 1982.

A small child shows the reader where his lettuce, marigolds, pumpkins, and sunflowers have come from.
E ROC

Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears. 1995.

When he gets too old to climb up the ladder, Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby figure out an ingenious way to pick pears.
(EASY READER SECTION)

Rylant, Cynthia. This Year's Garden. 1984.

A family plans its summer vegetable garden from seeding and harvesting to enjoying the fresh and preserved crops.
E RYL

Shannon, George. Seeds. 1994.

When Warren moves, he misses his older friend and the times they shared in the garden, but the separation inspires each of them to do something creative.
E SHA

Watson, Mary. The Butterfly Seeds. 1995.

A boy's new life in America is transformed when his grandfather's butterfly seeds flourish in the city.
E WAT

Wolf, Janet. The Rosy, Fat, Magenta Radish.

Here we meet Nora, a dedicated gardener. End papers feature pictures of gardening tools.
E WOL

Zalben, Jane Breskin. Pearl Plants a Tree. 1996.

Inspired by her grandfather, a little lamb plants an apple seed that grows into a tree.
E ZAL

---

Blue-Ribbon Fiction

Alcock, Vivien. The Stonewalkers. 1981.

A gardenstatue of Belladonna, brought to life by a flash of lightning, gathers a stone army as Poppy and her friend Emma watch in horror and fascination.
Y Fiction

Bosse, Malcolm J. The 79 Squares. 1979.

To the bafflement of his parents, gang, and probation officer, visiting a cantankerous old man and his garden becomes very important to fourteen-year-old Eric.
Y Fiction

Burnett, Frances Hodgson. The Secret Garden. 1909.

When three children work together to bring a neglected garden back to life, their lives blossom along with the garden in this classic story.
J Fiction

Gardiner, John Reynolds. Top Secret. 1984.

Despite the disapproval of his parents, nine-year-old Allen determines to do his science project on photosynthesis.
J Fiction

Garrigue, Sheila. The Eternal Spring of Mr. Ito. 1985.

The fate of a two hundred-year-old bonsai tree is decided by a young girl and an old Japanese-Canadian gardener who resists being imprisoned in an internment camp after the bombing of Pearl Harbor.
J Fiction

Fleischman, Sid. McBroom's Wonderful Farm: Three Tall Tales. 1992.

Three humorous adventures on McBroom's wonderful one-acre prairie farm.
J Fiction

MacBride, Roger Lea. In the Land of the Big Red Apple. 1995.

A year after moving to their farm in the Ozarks, Laura, Almanzo, and their daughter, Rose, have a successful vegetable harvest and the beginnings of an apple orchard.
J Fiction

Quattlebaum, Mary. Jackson Jones and the Puddle of Thorns. 1994.

When his mother gives him a garden plot for his tenth birthday, Jackson Jones hopes to earn enough money to buy a basketball-- but all he seems to get is trouble.
J Fiction

Thesman, Jean. Nothing Grows Here. 1993.

twelve-year-old Maryanne adjusts to losses caused by her father's death with the help of new friends and a new garden.
Y Fiction

---

In the Rows of Nonfiction

Ardley, Neil. The Science Book of Things That Grow. 1991.

Great projects with plants, from growing beans in a jar to planting marigolds in eggshells.
(On order)

Bjork, Christina. Linnea in Monet's Garden. 1987.

Linnea journeys to Giverney to find out about the great artist and tour his garden in this beautifully illustrated book.
J 759.4 Mo

Bjork, Christina. Linnea's Windowsill Garden. 1988.

Young plant lovers will enjoy Linnea's adventures with indoor gardening. Every aspect of indoor gardening is conveyed with infectious zeal.
J 635 Bj

Bramblett, Ella. Shoots of Green; Poems for Young Gardeners. 1968.

An anthology of poems aobut Spring and the growth of flowers, vegetables, and other growing things.
J 808.8 Br

Brown, Marc. Your First Garden Book. 1981.

This book contains many projects for sprouting, planting, and follow-up care. Sound garden advice shares the page with jokes, riddles, and information tidbits.
J 635 Br

Burnie, David. Plant. 1989.

The pictures in this book are so realistic and colorful that it seems as if the plants and flowers are there beneath your fingers as you turn the pages.
J 581 Bu

Creasy, Rosalind. Blue Potatoes, Orange Tomatoes> 1994.

Beautiful illustrations by Ruth Heller, along with the author's clear explanations, show children "how to grow a rainbow garden" of unusually colored vegetables.
J 335 Cr

Gibbons, Gail. From Seed to Plant. 1991.

Explores the intricate relationship between seed and the plants they produce.
J 581.3 Gi

Johnson, Sylvia A. Roses Red, Violets Blue. 1991.

Why and how flowers have beautiful color is the subject of this informative photo-illustrated book.
J 582.13 Jo

King, Elizabeth. Backyard Sunflower. 1993.

Samantha plants a seed and follows the development of a sunflower.
J 583.55 Ki

Kite, L. Patricia. Gardening Wizardry for Kids. 1995.

This colorful book tells the story of many important vegetables and herbs and offers many activities to learn more about these plants.
J 635 Ki

Krementz, Jill. A Very Young Gardener. 1991.

Six-year-old Ashley enjoys the gardening yearin this photo-essay. She looks for wildflowers in the woods, visits a botanical garden, and celebrates the harvest with a family picnic.
J 635 Kr

Laird, Elizabeth. Rosy's Garden: A Child's Keepsake of Flowers.

Rosy spends the summer with her grandmother, who shares with her the pleasures of her lovely English country garden.
J 635.9 La

Lavies, Bianca. Compost Critters. 1993.

Find out about all the creepy crawlies that devour garbage and form the nutritious material upon which plant life depends.
J 591.526 La

Muller, Gerda. The Garden in the City. 1989.

A neglected backyard right in the middle of the city is the setting for this satisfying story, as a family takes possession and brings it all back to life.
J 635 Mu

Oppenheim, Joan. Floratorium. 1994.

Children tour a plant museum and visit several ecosystems.
J 581 Op

Rhoades, Diane. Garden Crafts for Kids: 50 Great Reasons to Get Your Hands Dirty. 1995.

Lots of fun things to do in and out of the garden.
J 635.9 Rh

Wexler, Jerome. Sundew Stranglers. 1995.

An informative book with excellent photographs introducing those plants which digest insects in order to survive.
J 582.121 We

Wilkes, Angela. My First Garden Book. 1992.

Projects abound in this book, teaching children how to do many of the important steps in plant propagation.
J 635 Wi

Arrangement and original material copyright © 1996 the Ann Arbor District Library. Used by permission. Conditions of use: This list may be copied and distributed without requesting permission of the library, so long as this notice remains attached and appropriate credit to the compilers is given.