Friday, January 16, 2015

Recommended Picture Book: Flower Garden by Eve Bunting

Title: Flower Garden


Author: Eve Bunting

Illustrator: Kathryn Hewitt

Publisher: Hartcourt, Inc. 1994, HMH Books for Young Readers reprint edition, Mar 13, 2000

Age: 4 - 6

Topic: Gardening, Birthdays, Family, Stories in rhyme

Opening
Garden in a shopping cart,
Doesn't it look great?

Book Summary:
A young girl prepares a small garden as a surprise for her mother’s birthday.

Resources:
Learn about the flowers the young girl uses to make her garden: pansies, daisies, daffodils, geraniums and tulips.
Discuss various places to find gardens: in a yard, indoor garden, potted gardens, window sill gardens, and more.
Plant a colorful garden. Find some great ideas here
Find extension activities on Scholastic. More ideas here include nature walks and more.

Why I Like This Book:

Simple, easy to read and colorful. This book follows a young girl’s journey to making a colorful garden as a surprise for her mother’s birthday. Follow her as she buys the flowers, carries it home and transplant it into a pot. I was drawn to the fact that the family did not live in a single family home but in an apartment and the young girl still found a way to bring both beauty and nature to her home for her mother. It is so important for children to grow up surrounded by natural things even if they don’t have access to a backyard. Something like a garden box is a wonderful way to teach children how to care for plants and the environment.

2 comments:

Patricia T. said...

This struck a chord for me because I used to think up ways to do special things for my mother on her birthday! Such a lovely and creative story. And, I love Eve Bunting.

Sue Heavenrich said...

I can't believe that in all my years of gardening I never read this! It looks like lots of fun.