“Dad says we are going to grow vegetable soup. We’re ready to work, and our tools are ready, too.” This vibrantly illustrated picture book follows a father and child through the cycle of planting, watering, growing, and finally harvesting vegetables in a garden. Younger children will enjoy the brief text and the author/illustrator’s distinctive, bold, stylized collages. The back flap of the book includes a simple recipe for vegetable soup. For an equally exuberant look at planting a flower garden, try Ehlert’s Planting a Rainbow.

When Little Groundhog creeps into a neighbor’s garden to eat the delicious vegetables, wise Squirrel decides to teach him how to plant his own garden. Squirrel’s thorough instructions cover the entire garden cycle, from collecting, storing, and sowing the seeds to tending the crops and sharing the harvest. Younger children may need help with some of the vocabulary in the information-packed story, but readers of all ages will be enthralled by the beautifully detailed illustrations.

When Granda visits Jody, they plant a circle of scarlet runner beans in her garden. Jody wonders what they’ll look like. “Wait and see,” says her grandfather. Between visits, Jody follows his directions carefully, watering and weeding the plants. The delicate, detailed watercolor illustrations not only depict the garden’s growth and the warm relationship between grandparent and grandchild but also offer observant readers a sweet secondary story about Jody’s mother’s pregnancy.

This picture book features Molly and Emmett, the spunky girl and her cat who appear monthly in Ladybug magazine. The lively, likable pair decide to plant a garden with the seeds sent by Molly’s grandmother. An overly enthusiastic Emmett tries to help by opening all the packets at once, and the wind scatters them everywhere. “Never mind, Em. We’ll tell Grandma it’s our Surprise Garden!” The appealing illustrations portray the spirited personalities of the title characters and also provide lots of details about the hard work it takes to plant a garden.

Seed, plant, flower, fruit--each stage of a plant’s life cycle has a secret hidden inside, one that leads to the next stage of growth. Beautiful illustrations and simple text describe diverse examples of each stage, then focus on the development of four specific seeds: rose, oak, pea, and tomato. Gardeners of all ages will have fun identifying the many types of plants depicted in the lovely, colorful drawings.

This attractive book features 13 simple activities that introduce children to basic plant biology. The easy-to-follow instructions include brief explanations of what should happen and why. Colorful, full-page photos of children performing the experiments add to the fun. A parent/teacher page offers ideas to extend the activities in the book.