Last week I ordered a couple of books on gardening with children. I loved one of them, and although the other had tons of eye candy, I thought it was lacking substance.
The book Gardening with Children, one of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden All-Region Guides, is a delight cover to cover. Although meant for adults, it is a book children will enjoy looking through. There are over 40 hands on projects including science experiments, journal keeping, art and craft activities, wildlife and food gardening projects and nature explorations.
It explains the difference between beneficial and harmful insects. It has a neat experiment for observing under soil root growth. There’s activities for learning about plant anatomy and recycling. Lots of interesting and child appropriate activities. I’ll be sharing many of these with the grandbabies and this blog!
That brings me to A Child’s Garden by Molly Dannenmaier. First off, let me say it is visually delightful. There are beautiful pictures of idyllic gardens. The are lovely ponds and waterfalls, maze like paths meandering through backyards, and play forts that look nicer than my first house. And although there are certainly interesting points and suggestions, I would think duplicating most settings would be beyond the budget of the average family.
That is not to say I think the book is lacking value, but at $20.00 I would check it out of your library as opposed to buying it. It deserves a once through, not a spot on the family bookshelf. As Tim and I would say… It is merely adequate.
I noticed that book in your sidebar last night and checked it out. It looked really cool. Thanks for the review. I’ll have to see if my library has it before I splurge at Amazon. I have a bit of a “buying books” problem that I am trying to curb.