Planting & Gardening for Children
 

"Most popular!" Children's Wheelbarrow
2 to 12 yrs. &  up

"This little wheelbarrow is the tool of choice for hauling flowers, grass clippings, toys, and other treasures. Not only does it look like a real wheelbarrow, it is a real wheelbarrow, with a red steel tray, a black triangular steel undercarriage, and finished hardwood handles..." More...

"Witness the miracle of live butterfly metamorphosis first hand. Watch caterpillars mature, change into chrysalides, emerge into butterflies, then release them. The kit includes a butterfly house, a mail-away certificate for live caterpillars, instructions and more!"

Editorial Review
"Did you know that painted ladies (the butterflies, that is) taste with their feet and have 10,000 eyes? You and your kids will be fascinated by all you learn about these beautiful creatures with the Butterfly Garden from Insect Lore. The kit comes with a relatively easy-to-assemble observation chamber; supplies for feeding the butterflies (you provide only sugar and water); an informative booklet of clear instructions and butterfly facts; and a certificate for three to five free painted lady caterpillars. The metamorphosis from larva to butterfly takes about three weeks from when you receive the caterpillar larvae (which arrive in a small container with all the nutrients they need). Your children can watch the larvae increase dramatically in size, form chrysalides, and finally emerge into full-fledged painted ladies (it's suggested that they release the butterflies after a few days of observation). This would make a wonderful activity for families with kids of any age, but younger children will need help assembling the observation chamber and reading the instruction booklet. (Note: The manufacturer recommends that butterflies should not be set free in temperatures lower than 55 degrees Fahrenheit.)" --Rachel Radway 

"A Child's Garden is an excellent guide for parents wishing to create natural spaces in the garden where their children can openly play and explore. Stepping beyond the traditional ideas of building a treehouse or planting a vegetable garden, the authors include 60 unique ways to tailor a landscape to nurture a child's sense of enchantment and wonder. For instance, many children like to hide, and the book includes ideas for building natural caves out of woven willow branches, climbing vines, or weeping shrubs. For parents wanting to plant a good tree for climbing, this guide knowledgeably recommends the fast-growing and sturdy Norway maple as one of the best. It's filled with such information throughout its nine sections on water, creatures, refuges, dirt, heights, movement, make-believe, nurturing, and learning. Messages on safety are wisely included, along with an excellent list of resources covering everything from buying butterfly houses to visiting selected children's gardens. Through its many color photographs and warm, wise text, A Child's Garden will draw parents into their children's timeless, carefree world and perhaps back to a time when they themselves explored streams, played in the sand, studied bugs, and roamed without agenda."--Karen Karleski

"Our whole family has enjoyed reading this book to get ideas for our Sunflower/Fairy Garden!! Every section offers wonderful ideas that we would never have thought of to add...What Fun our Magical Garden will be thanks to, A Child's Garden : Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents! One section offers the idea of planting different berries around the yard so the children can snack as they play! I have given this book to our landscaper to see what ideas he has for adding water to the garden...Already he has suggested using a water pump to circulate water in order to make a small trickling brook for our boys to sail their boats on! I also got the idea to make a willow archway that will be child size for the children to cimb through! We are so very excited to spend this summer creating and adding to our Enchanted Fairy Garden!"

Product Description
"With practical, unique science activities focused on the rain forest, readers will be able to take a magical journey deep into the heart of the world's rain forests and learn firsthand about this incredible ecosystem. Full of hands-on activities, unbelievable facts, amazing discoveries, extraordinary adventures and fantastic experiments, this book makes any young person's journey into this mystical world all the more delightful."

About the Author
"Anthony D. Fredericks has written more than 30 teacher resource books in the areas of science, social studies, and language arts, plus six children's books on animals, nature, and environmental studies. He and his family live on a mountainside in south-central Pennsylvania.

"Shawn Shea, an award-winning artist, has illustrated 16 books. He lives in Denver, Colorado, with his fiancee, Linda, and their two cats."

"A comforting, richly illustrated story about a birthday surprise. An urban African-American girl and her father buy plants, potting soil, and a window box at the supermarket, ride the bus to their apartment, and put together a colorful gift for the child's mother. Rhyming verse carries the brief story, while wonderful, warm, full-color illustrations present scenes from novel angles, and depict a loving family with a sense of intimacy, sincerity, and joy. A reassuring choice for reading aloud."--Barbara Peklo Abrahams, Oneida City Schools, Manlius, NY

"We have a two-year-old daughter who picks this book out every day and every night to read. The illustrations are breathtaking. The story is simple but relevant; we follow every detail as the father and daughter walk the city street and ride the bus. We love to watch the daughter planting the flowers with her father; the mother coming home from school to see her birthday surprise. I have no doubt that this book will be with us for another generation or more (at least in our house). Thank you to the two wonderful artists who created such a special book."

"Brilliant and interesting photographs, simple diagrams, and a short, informative text are the highlights of this Plant Parts series, which features titles on flowers, leaves, and stems. The photography is exquisite, as each flower drips with dew or appears ready to be plucked from the page. We learn that cauliflower and artichokes are flowers and by seeing the photograph on each page, young readers easily learn these two big new words. There are photos of fruit beginning to grow in a pollinated flower-- and a hummingbird sipping nectar from a flower. There is a very short index, a list of additional books, and a reference to the Facthound web site with links to age-appropriate sites for each book. This is an outstanding series of concept books for new and pre-readers; the photographs make the book interesting enough to use with older children who struggle with reading and concepts."--Children's Literature Comprehensive Database, March 2007.

"A straightforward, carefully detailed presentation of how 'fruit comes from flowers,' from winter's snow-covered buds through pollination and growth to ripening and harvest. Like the text, the illustrations are admirably clear and attractive, including the larger-than-life depiction of the parts of the flower at different stages. An excellent contribution to the solidly useful Let's-Read-and-Find-Out-Science' series. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 4-9)" -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

"I read this book many times with my kids when they were younger and learned a lot myself in the meantime. The material is well presented and clear, but has a lot of details that explains the change from flower to fruit. It was fun after reading to look at apple trees in different stages of the year and see the fruits growing, understanding how it all happened. A must for homeschool science!"

"Whimsy and wonder abound in this horticultural counting book. Beginning readers (and counters--and gardeners!) can count from one grinning watering can to 233 plump little peas, with plenty of dancing flowers, buzzing bees, stones for stepping, and snails late for dinner in between. In the standard counting-book format, numbers one through ten are each given their own two-page spread. Numbers 20, 30, 40, and 50 follow, allowing children to stretch their minds to remember (or learn) what comes between, and the book concludes on a silly note, with number 233. The penultimate page shows every single one of the 233 peas numbered, so young readers can check their work!"

"Finally, I'm also looking forward to storytime. My 2 year old loves this book and so do I. The right combination of beautiful illustartions (you should have posters too) with a sense of humor, with counting. She points at the grapes, peas with glasses and recognizes "grandpa." We'll be waiting for your next book!"

"The narrative details how a giant tree topples during a storm, becomes a giant log on the forest floor, then decomposes."

"My 3 year old loves this book and asks for it frequently. Fun to read the book then go out to the woods and find fallen trees in various stages of decay - really brings the book to life."

"I absolutely love this book and have used it with a variety of ages. Not only is the information clear and accurate, but the illustrations are outstanding. They are done all in paper (watercolored first) and are photographs of 3D "dioramas". Not only can you use this book to introduce life cycles, decomposition, etc. but you can use it as a lead in to some great art projects! "

"Trees in all seasons and used for many reasons are imaginatively captured in short poems and richly textured full-color oil paintings. The delightful use of language plays on the senses as it creates word pictures that are sure to entertain. The selections beg to be read-aloud and shared. Free verse, haiku, and bits of rhymes and rhythms reflect the joy children feel as they play in and about or observe all types of trees throughout the year. A celebration of these mighty living things and the people who love them."--Pamela K. Bomboy, Chesterfield County Public Schools, VA Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. 

"This informative book discusses the many medicines that have come from forests and stresses the need for conservation in order to preserve potential cures as yet unknown to the medical community. Acknowledging the role of shamans and healers in indigenous cultures who have led scientists to potent plants and plant combinations, the author describes a number of these plants and tells how they are used today in treating various diseases and complaints. Many colorful photographs take readers on location to forests, farms, laboratories, and shops to observe the origins and uses of plant-based medicines. A well-focused book on a fascinating topic."--Carolyn Phelan 

"Green thumbs and non-green thumbs alike will fall in love with Roots, Shoots, Buckets, & Boots, a remarkably fun and informative introduction to the wonderful world of gardening--and more specifically, gardening with children. Learn how to make everything from a pizza garden (pizza-pie-shaped, with herbs and vegetables for a fabulous pizza at harvest time), to a sunflower house (a secret hideaway with stately sunflowers and lovely creeping morning glories), to a moon garden ("Fragrance is the color of night"). Chock full of helpful hints, clever and artistic touches, and intriguing "recipes" (Moth Broth and Compost Sandwich, to name a few), this idea book will spark creativity and a lifelong fascination with gardening. Nine concepts for theme gardens are presented in a clearly defined yet non-rigid manner that is just right for encouraging young gardeners. Sharon Lovejoy, award-winning author and illustrator of several gardening books, including Hollyhock Days: Garden Adventures for the Young at Heart, has a true knack for working with all kinds of living things, including children. She understands how quickly young people will be turned off by inflexible rules, and instead encourages budding green thumbs to experiment and explore, while providing them with useful guidelines and helpful information. Wonderfully earthy watercolors make this cozy book even more welcoming. (All ages)." --Emilie Coulter 

"This is a book packed with ideas for teaching children to love the garden and nature surrounding it. If you love to garden and would love to share it with the children in your life, this is the book! This book can make a garden come alive for children and the place to be. It has very doable ideas for numerous themed children's gardens. This is a must have book. I am going to buy several more copies to give to my very best gardening friends."

"A magical book of adventures and appreciations written and illustrated by the author of Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots..."

"A fetching primer on gardening for children.... Irresistible..."

"There are few books that make it into my '"Magic Books"' category, but both books by Sharon fit the bill. If you want to revisit childhood, or create a wonderful experience with your child or grandchild, this book is a must have..." 

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