Classics, Nonfiction, and Children's Literature
What’s Alive? by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld (illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott; published 1995) is an easily approachable “Let’s Read and Find Out!” book that finds commonalities between a child and other living things. It is written with a conversational voice that would attract very young children and has a second-person narration that directly speaks to
Plants that Never Ever Bloom by Ruth Heller (Puffin, 1984) is an older picture book that provides examples off various fungi that grow around the world as well as evergreens, illustrating how these living organisms do not bloom as we might assume all plants do. Since it is older, the illustrations and cover have that
Rather than being a straight-forward biography, the sweet graphic novel Wildflower Emily: A Story About Young Emily Dickinson by Linda Corry (Godwin Books, October 2024) captures her uniqueness, her passion for botany and nature, and her different way of looking at the world. Teenage Emily learns botany at her school desk, but with her dog
The uniquely illustrated picture book A Log’s Life by Wendy Pfeffer (illustrated by Robin Brickman; Simon & Schuster, 1997) shows the interconnectedness of ecosystems through the life of an oak tree. Three-dimensional collage illustrations bring the different creatures and textures to life in the illustrations. This picture book explains the cycle of decomposition with a
With a playful tone, the nonfiction picture book Plants Can’t Sit Still by Rebecca E. Hirsch (illustrated by Mia Osada; Millbrook Press, 2016) teaches readers how plants and seeds move in a variety ways, including how plants face the sunshine and spread seeds, and then the seeds sprouting into new plants. The pages have 1-3
Karl, Get Out of the Garden! by Anita Sanchez (illustrated by Catherine Stock; Charlesbridge, 2017) is a picture book biography of Carolus Linneas, the first to set up the a systematic way of classifying living things by giving each thing a scientific name. Carolus Linneaus is the Latin version of Karl Linne, a scientist who
The nonfiction picture book Green: The Story of Life on Our Planet by Nicola Davies (illustrated by Emily Sutton; Candlewick, 2024) explains how plants support the world. Detailed pages with illustrations and diagrams explain the structure of a plant cell, the process of photosynthesis, a basic energy food web, and the general evolution of plants
From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons (Holiday House, 1991) is a detailed Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out book with details on how seeds grow into plants. It includes charts with the parts of the seeds details on how pollination occurs, and clear charts of the various stages of photosynthesis. The detail provides a nice full instruction in how
Spring Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow (Grimms Smith, 2019) is a refreshing spring book. The book’s focus is two-fold. First there are light, black-and-white line illustrations and a simply rhyming text. In this, the author-illustrator shows children going for a nature walk in a garden with Grammy. Then, in the foreground on each page is
With a rhythm and rhyme of just a few syllables per page, Bloom Boom by April Pulley Sayre (Beach Lane Books, 2019) provides not just a simple read-aloud for young children but also a great book of inspiration for finding flowers and other blooming plants that one enjoys. This book of flower photography is a
Because of an Acorn by Lola and Adam Schaefer (Chronicle Books, 2016; illustrated by Fran Preston-Gannon) has pretty pictures and simple text to show the connection between an acorn growing and the other types of life surrounding it. Birds, fruit, deer, chipmunks, and other animals all are able to live. They also contribute to adding
With gorgeous, realistic illustrations, author-illustrator Lynne Cherry takes the reader through the process of starting a garden in the picture book How Groundhog’s Garden Grew (Blue Sky Press, 2003). This time it is a garden planned and planted by Groundhog, with Squirrel’s help. The garden begins with gathering seeds in fall, and then, after hibernating
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