Children's Literature — Fiction/Nonfiction Mix

A Farmer's Alphabet by Mary Azarian - wood cuts that should be framed; each letter of the alphabet is a farm-associated word (play a game of thinking of other farm words that Mary didn't use...make your own farm alphabet book!)

Diary of a Worm by Doreen Cronin - What a scream?! You learn a bit about worms and keeping a diary but you get plenty of laughs...for instance, one page reads " June 15  - My older sister thinks she's so pretty. I told her that no matter how much time she spends looking in the mirror, her face will always look just like her rear end." See?

The Farmer's Alphabet by Mary Azarian - Printmaker extraordinaire, Azarian depicts portions of agricultural life; beautiful enough to frame

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert - All Lois Ehlert books are wonderful. Great book for introducing garden to young folks

How Groundhog's Garden Grew by Lynne Cherry (so you know it's good!) - I know what you're thinking...groundhogs usually eat the garden, not grow it!; detailed illustrations that give a lot of information all by themselves with a wonderfully written story to tie it all together

I Was Born In A Tree and Raised By Bees by Jim Arnosky - title says it all!

Jack's Garden by Henry Cole - a cumulative text (similar to 12 Days of Christmas, building as you go, and explains how a garden works and the animals involved)

Jody's Beans by Malachy Doyle - through spring, summer and fall, Jody and her grandma watch her scarlet runner beans grow; a sweet book

The King of the Birds by Helen Ward- a retelling of a traditional tale with a key in the back to identify the beautiful bird renderings

The Life and Times of the Peanut by Charles Micucci - a good book to share with children in February African American awareness month (George Washington Carver) and children enjoy learning Goober Peas and to learn about the many different things made of peanuts and that peanuts aren't really nuts! The peanut is also an interesting plant to grow in the classroom (but you have to start growing it early enough as it takes 5 months to grow!).

The Moonflower by Peter Loewer (an Ashevillian) not only do children learn about moonflowers but their pollinators and life that happens all around them

My Mother Talks to Trees by Doris Gove - mother and daughter taking a walk while mother introduces child to trees (good identification info throughout); at back are some questions to ask when you talk to trees

Once There Was A Tree by Natalia Romanova (beautiful pics, nonfict. sprinkled throughout, good message about nature belongs to us all)

Over in the Garden by Jennifer Ward - used as a counting book, to glean info about bugs in the garden...many choices. It also can be sung to the tune of Over in the Meadow (has music score to play recorder or other instrument to)

Pretend Soup and Other Real Recipes by Mollie Katzen (author of the famous Moosewood Cookbook) and Ann Henderson - a cookbook for preschoolers and up; uses pictures for recipes for not-yet-readers; important skills in the kitchen - counting, reading readiness, science awareness, self-confidence, patience and food literacy!

Round the Garden by Omri Glaser - circular text WRITTEN BY AN 8-YEAR OLD! Precious illustrations and children should get a kick out of a book written by a contemporary. In the fict./nonfict. as it does impart some useful info.

The Snail's Spell by Joann Ryder (so of course it's a winner; pics by Lynne Cherry) - peaceful book, lots of info about snails told with the poetic language of Ryder; chosen as an Outstanding Science Book for Young Children

Somewhere Today by Bert Kitchen - great to use for writing with children as they all have a repeating line and children could write similar books with topic they are interested in) lots of info but written to whet children's curiosity

Spiders Spin Webs by Yvonne Winer (beautiful language, good info (the how, when, where, why of spiders), nice repeating line)

This Is your Garden by Maggie Smith - "A gardening primer for the very young children...its sweet charm and nurturing tone will make it a welcome addition to any gardening collection." -Booklist

This Year's Garden by Cynthia Rylant (anything by Rylant is wonderful, can't go wrong) - tells the year in the garden with typical Rylant-poetic lyricism; good for rereading at different times of the year

Some people may argue with me that there is any nonfiction in this book, Tops and Bottoms by Janet Stevens - a trickster tale that also shows the differences between root, leaf, and stalk vegetables

The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle - great art, explains the cycle of life in a kid-like story fashion

Two Old Potatoes and Me by John Coy - a wonderful new book that tells the story of growing potatoes, with a recipe for mashed potatoes at the end. Also a subtle comment on divorce/separation to give comfort to children who might be experiencing that themselves

Water Dance, Mountain Dance, and Cloud Dance and Sky Tree by Thomas Locker (if for nothing else but the wonderful paintings plus stirring text and for your fact hounds, detailed info at end)

Where Butterflies Grow by Joann Ryder (illustrated by the person who wrote The Great Kapok Tree) flowing text, wondrous pics, info at back, the life cycle of the parsley worm/black swallowtail butterfly written as a poem

When the Moon is Full - A Lunar Year by Penny Pollock - the twelve full moons of the year with traditional Native American names; Q & A section in back

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