Tuesday, June 18, 2019

How Does Your Garden Grow?-Monthly Challenge

By Janie Reinart


Mary, Mary, quite contrary
How does your garden grow?
With silver bells and cockleshells
And pretty maids all in a row.
                                                                     ~Mother Goose

How does your garden grow? Have you ever tried growing other things besides vegetables and flowers? Maybe balloons?

By Jerdine Nolen
What if you planted other things besides seeds? What would happen if you planted jelly beans? If you haven't guessed by now, your challenge is to write a story about planting a garden.



Or perhaps you can grow happy. Or sad. 

By Jon Lasser
Using positive psychology and choice theory, this book shows children that they have the tools to nurture their own happiness and live resiliently.

"My name is Kiko.
I'm a gardener.
I grow happy.
Let me show you how."


By Kate Messner
Up in the garden, the world is full of green. But down in the dirt exists a busy world—earthworms dig, snakes hunt, skunks burrow—populated by all the animals that make a garden their home.

"Up in the garden I stand and plan--my hands full of seeds and my head full of dreams."

Maybe you can plant a rainbow.


By Lois Ehlert

Lois Ehlert's bold collage illustrations include six pages of staggered width, presenting all the flowers of each color of the rainbow.

"Every year mom and I plant a rainbow. In the fall we buy some bulbs and plant them in the ground."


By Kathryn O. Galbraith
Go a little wild! This book explores the many ways seeds are distributed.

"The farmer and her boy plant their garden... In the wild meadow garden, many seeds are planted too, but not by farmers hands. Oooooo--whishhh! The wind scatters seeds. It spills them and spins them. And sweeps them up, up into sunlight and out across the field."

Share your favorite garden books with us in the comments. What will you be planting in your story garden?

21 comments:

  1. Great roundup of books, You know this topic is right up my alley! TY, Janie.

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    1. You are welcome. Just planting a story seed.

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  2. These books look great! I'm inspired to work on a garden manuscript that I've started. Thank you for the push in the right direction. Here's a fun one about garden's with lots of movement possibilities for an active listener: Up, Down, and Around by Katherine Ayres

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  3. Love it! I'm doing themes for my weeks of caring for the grands this summer. Gardening is one week, so I'm hanging on to this post for that week! Yay! NOW, if I can just keep up with them...

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  4. Angie, what fun! Wear your running shoes. :)

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  5. Janie,
    Love these titles. Let me add Anywhere Garden by Phyllis Root.

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  6. Like your harvest... a sampling of newer and older texts for every palate!

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  7. Ooooh, I think I"ve got a really good idea for a garden story. Can't wait to share the premise with you Janie.

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  8. Love your different books on a single topic. I'll betcha some idea seeds will be growing soon with your lovely promptings.

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  9. Oooh, I've got a garden book in the hopper! Am still revising......thanks for the nudge, and for all these great mentor texts! Cheers!

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  10. So funny that you brought this topic up. This morning a story/poem about the garden spilled onto the page.

    I loved the Balloon Farm when it was first published. Such a great story. Your whole list is wonderful.

    There's also My Garden by Kevin Henkes, Growing Vegetable soup by Lois Elhert,Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to communicate by Sara Levine, Are We Pears Yet? By Miranda Paul. That's all I can think of off the top of my garden filled head.

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    1. Wow! Thank you for all the titles, Sarah.

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  11. It's that time of year! Love your selection of titles. This may recharge an idea I've had for some time, but haven't quite figured out. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  12. I am not a garden, but I think this black thumb can grow some happy! Great post!

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