Plant a love of nature with this picture book: "Planting the Wild Garden"

Everywhere in my yard, plants are growing - many of which I didn’t plant (some call them weeds, I call them uninvited green guests). How do all those plants in the meadows, by the creek beds, in fields and by the sides of roads get there?

We learn who helped those plants in Planting the Wild Garden, written by Kathryn O. Galbraith and gorgeously illustrated by my friend,  Wendy Anderson Halperin:

"Wind and water. Birds and animals. Plants and people. All of us. Together.”

I love Galbraith’s easy but poetic style for non-fiction. This book doesn’t read like an old science text book, although it's bursting with information.

"Scotch broom seeds pop out like popcorn in the heat, cockleburs are transplanted when they catch on the fur of a fox, and dandelion seeds are blown to new places by a child."

Each page is lushly and accurately illustrated by Halperin, whose award-winning project drawingchildrenintoreading.com is worth investigating if you are an educator or parent of budding readers. 

Pick up this beautiful picture book from the Orion Township Public Library. After reading this book aloud, give your kids colored pencils and paper for them to draw the seed transportation method they find most interesting. Read the book aloud twice as children draw, rereading pages they want to hear. Your kids will be practicing their listening comprehension as they draw. Encourage them to use labels and descriptions to explain their art, and to use onomatopoeia like Galbraith did to build writing skills. Whether you're trying to keep important learning skills sharp this summer, or just looking to share a beautiful book, reading Planting the Wild Garden will plant a love of nature in your children.

For more inspiration, please visit Kathryn Galbraith’s website and Wendy Anderson Halperin’s website.

For more great books and activities for kids, please visit kristenremenar.com.