Two Books about Plants for Young Kids

Today we are going to look at two children’s books about plants that cover the same material in different ways.

The Common Core Standards suggest introducing plant concepts in PreK and Kindergarten. Some of these include:

• Understanding plants are living things.
• Understanding plants have structures: root, stem, branch, leaf, flower, fruit, and seeds.
• Understanding each plant structure has functions. For example, roots support the plant, and take in water and food.
• Being able to describe the life cycle, starting with plants grow from seeds.
• Realizing plants need water, sunlight and nutrients (food) to grow.
• Understanding plants are important to our world for many reasons, including the fact they provide food, clothes and shelter.

All About Roots (All About Plants) by Claire Throp

As part of the All About Plants series, All About Roots is an informational beginning reader that presents the concepts in a logical and straightforward way. It uses carefully controlled vocabulary and short, clear sentences. It is illustrated with high quality color photographs, most that focus on different kinds of roots. The text emphasizes plant structures and their functions.

The best part about All About Roots is in the back matter. There is a note for parents and teachers with suggestions for activities to do before reading and follow up discussion questions after reading. These are great ways to reinforce learning.

Other books in the series include All About Flowers, All About Leaves, and All About Seeds.

Age Range: 4 – 6 years
Publisher: Heinemann (July 1, 2014)
ISBN-10: 148460508X
ISBN-13: 978-1484605080

A complimentary book to read for the same age group is Plants Feed Me by Lizzy Rockwell.

The first thing the reader notices about this book is the brightly colored-pencil-and-gouache illustrations, starting with the cover. The second is that the illustrations are filled with a lively selection of smiling children with a diversity of looks. The presence of children throughout the book draw readers in by making them feel like they are part of the action.

Another factor that draws readers in is the story is told in the first person by a young boy. The very first line is: “I am a plant eater.” The use of the first person is unusual for informational books like this, but it works well.

Although the plant structures are labelled and named, the main thrust of this book is that plants provide us with food. Like All About Roots, the sentences are short and use a controlled vocabulary, making it perfect for those beginning to read.

Plants Feed Me is a nonfiction book that is likely to appeal to a wide variety of young readers. It is a must have for a beginning unit on plants and it would pair well with All About Roots.

Paperback: 32 pages
Publisher: Holiday House (January 30, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0823433072
ISBN-13: 978-0823433070

Looking for more books about plants for children? Be sure to visit our growing list of gardening and plant science books for kids, as well as our list of children’s books about seeds.

Disclosure: All About Roots was provided by the publisher for review. Plants Feed Me was from the library. Also, I am an affiliate with Amazon so I can provide you with cover images and links to more information about books and products. As you probably are aware, if you click through the highlighted title link and purchase a product, I will receive a very small commission, at no extra cost to you. Any proceeds help defray the costs of hosting and maintaining this website.

Come visit the STEM Friday blog each week to find more great Science, Technology, Engineering and Math books.