Planting the Wild Garden by Kathryn O. Galbraith and illustrated by Wendy Anderson Halperin is a lovely new picture book about how seeds are spread in nature. 
“OOOOOO-whishhhh! The wind scatters seeds. It spills them. And spins them.”
The text is full of action, with verbs highlighted. It is an absolute pleasure to read aloud. Galbraith has a superlative writing style. In fact, her last book won a Parents’ Choice Award, and this one will probably be in contention for upcoming awards as well.
The text is also informative. Did you guess that fish might eat seeds that fall in the water? Or that some plants pop out their seeds? Galbraith packs a lot of facts into very few words.
What a visual treat! The endpapers are exquisite, with many interesting seeds and fruit to explore. The illustrations show movement or the passage of time in a novel way. Halperin has blocked out small squares of details within a bigger picture, so it is almost like a slide show, or even a movie.
Planting the Wild Garden would work equally well as a read aloud for a group, or a quiet cuddle in a chair. This book is a wonderful, gentle introduction to the topic of seed dispersal. It is sure to engage young children and inspire them to want to learn more about nature.
Jennifer at Jean Little Library, has a recent review.
Look for related hands-on science activities at Growing With Science
Reading level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 32 pages
Publisher: Peachtree Publishers (April 1, 2011)
ISBN-10: 1561455636
ISBN-13: 978-1561455638
Book was supplied for review purposes.
Nonfiction Monday is a blogging celebration of nonfiction books for kids. We invite you to join us. For more information and a schedule, stop by the new Nonfiction Monday blog to see who is hosting each week.
This week’s post is at L. L. Owens.