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Kids are naturally curious—tiny detectives on a mission to uncover the secrets of the world (usually while asking a million questions a minute). So why not channel that curiosity into gardening for wildlife? Our handpicked collection of books, coloring books, and kid-friendly field guides is perfect for budding naturalists who are ready to explore, learn, and maybe even identify every bug in the backyard. Let the adventure begin!
Gardening for Wildlife
Kids Books
Akeem Keeps Bees! A Close-Up Look at the Honey Makers and Pollinators of Sankofa Farms
Kamal Eugene William Bell
Akeem Keeps Bees! begins with the arrival and installation of a package of bees and follows Akeem and his Dad throughout the year as they inspect the hive, find the queen, deal with a swarm, harvest honey, and prepare for winter. Every part of the process is illustrated for young readers, teaching them the special role that bees play on a farm. The author, Kamal Bell, is a leading voice among Black farmers educating and inspiring Black youth about farming and beekeeping. Perfect for children ages 6 through 10.
Gardening for Kids: Learn, Grow, and Get Messy with Fun STEAM Projects
Brandy Stone
Discover how fun and educational growing plants can be. Gardening for Kids is packed with essential information for beginner gardeners and tons of awesome projects that help kids grow their science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) skills. Go outside with easy-to-try experiments that will teach you all about the environment, plants, and what it takes to grow and maintain your very own garden. Find out what your soil is made of, make a miniature greenhouse, race seeds, and so much more!
Gardening Lab for Kids: 52 Fun Experiments to Learn, Grow, Harvest, Make, Play, and Enjoy Your Garden
Renata Fossen Brown
A refreshing source of ideas to help your children learn to grow their own patch of earth, Gardening Lab for Kids encourages children to get outside and enjoy nature. This fun and creative book features 52 plant-related activities set into weekly lessons, beginning with learning to read maps to find your heat zone, moving through seeds, soil, composting, and then creating garden art and appreciating your natural surroundings. Author Renata Fossen Brown guides your family through fun opportunities learning about botany, ecology, the seasons, food, patience, insects, eating, and cooking.
Gardening With Kids: Bond & Grow Together – Getting the Kids Out of the House & Into the Dirt
M. A. Davis
Start a garden with your kids and watch the rewards come flooding in! This all-encompassing guide for the beginning gardener will provide you with the tools to get started, the knowledge to keep it going, and the satisfaction of creating something amazing with your children. Gardening With Kids is the ultimate guide to creating something special with your children and learning the ins and outs of gardening.
How to Make a Pollinator Garden
Como Hacer Un Jardín Polinizador
Camelia Maier
How To Make a Pollinator Garden, a bi-lingual picture book in English and Spanish, teaches young readers with step-by-step scientific instruction why pollinators are important and what kids can do to help them thrive. The engaging story is paired with relatable, diverse characters throughout the artwork.
The Mighty Pollinators
Helen Frost
Have you noticed, on a summer’s day, the fine powder at the heart of a flower or floating on a breeze? What is pollen, and why does it matter? Almost invisible, pollen waits for the one thing it needs: a ride on the wind—or on wings, fur, or feathers. That’s where pollinators come in, small and mighty, holding the world together with their work. In The Mighty Pollinators, shimmering photographs saturated with color evoke the busy world of bees, butterflies, bats, and moths—and many lesser-known species—at arrestingly close range. Playful poems encourage the reader to look closely, to marvel, and most of all, to care, while concise back matter underscores the vital role these creatures play in the ecosystem and the ways we can help pollinators help us
My Pollinator Garden: How I Plant for Bees, Butterflies, Beetles, and More
Jordan Zwetchkenbaum
Bees need pollen and nectar from flowers. But not all flowers feed all bees. Some bees need long, narrow flowers. Some bees need short flowers. Some tiny bees can’t fly far and need flowers that are nearby. Some bees can take pollen from only one particular kind of flower. Those bees are in trouble if that flower isn’t available to them. Flies, wasps, beetles, bats, birds, and butterflies need flowers too. My Pollinator Garden is about amazing animals and plants that are native to North America, how they need each other to survive, and how you can help them.
Nature’s Best Hope (Young Readers’ Edition): How You Can Save the World in Your Own Yard
Douglas W. Tallamy, Sarah L. Thomson
In Nature’s Best Hope (Young Readers’ Edition), Tallamy empowers kids to use their own yards to help combat the negative effects of climate change. He does so by breaking down complex concepts into simple terms and real-world examples that kids can easily grasp. Black and white photographs help further clarify concepts. In addition to sharing the science, Tallamy encourages kids to take direct action. Some of these ideas include planting an oak tree at home. If that’s too large of a task, he suggests they can plant asters–a beautiful flower whose pollen bees use to feed their young.
Pollination: How Does My Garden Grow?
Christopher Cheng
A child’s day in the garden with their Gran and Pa leads to a wonderful exploration of pollination. Join them in discovering how pollination happens in our gardens and backyards, and the importance it has for our environment. Meet the animals involved in pollination and the plants that depend on pollination to produce our fruit, vegetables, and even our clothes! We recommend Pollination for ages 5 to 9.
Pollinator Garden ABCs
Pj Kennedy
Pollinator Garden ABCs is an illustrated alphabet book that teaches the reader about pollinators and their importance to the world. The book also provides many examples of sustainable and eco-friendly gardening practices that anyone can incorporate into their gardens.
Pollinator Gardens
Samantha S. Bell
Pollinators are important parts of the ecosystem. Pollinator Gardens teaches readers about growing gardens that provide habitats for birds, butterflies, and other pollinators. Easy-to-read text, vivid images, and helpful back matter give readers a clear look at this subject. Features include a table of contents, infographics, a glossary, additional resources, and an index. Aligned to Common Core Standards and correlated to state standards.
Pollinators & Native Plants for Kids: An Introduction to Botany
Jaret C. Daniels
Pollinators & Native Plants for Kids begins with an introduction to plants. Then it guides readers through the process of pollination, spotlighting the essential role that bees, butterflies, and other pollinators play. The book further discusses why native plants are important to a healthy ecosystem and outlines how children and families can take action to help them. In the field-guide section, 150 wildflowers, trees, and shrubs are organized by type. Full-color photographs and visual descriptions help readers to identify the species they see in nature.
They Work: Honey Bees, Nature’s Pollinators
June Smalls
Experience the life cycle of the honey bee up close and personal with this striking picture book from June Smalls (author of She Leads, He Leads, and They Lead) and illustrator Yukari Mishima. Told in a poetic style along with fun facts on each page for older readers wanting a deeper dive, They Work is a beautiful exploration of life inside a beehive, as well as the dangers and predators bees face out in the world—including humans.
Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt
Kate Messner
Explore the secret realm beneath the dirt that brings the world of nature to life: Follow a young girl and her grandmother on a journey through the year planning, planting, and harvesting their garden—and learn about what’s happening in the dirt to help make it all happen. Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt exists a busy world—earthworms dig, snakes hunt, skunks burrow—populated by all the creatures that make a garden their home. These secrets and many others are waiting to be discovered up in the garden and down in the dirt in Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt.
Gardening for Wildlife
Coloring Books
Birds, Butterflies, and Bees: A Pollinator Coloring Book
Veronica Hue
Escape to nature and express your creativity! Birds, Butterflies, and Bees Coloring Book is the perfect outlet for adults to relax, color, and learn about an array of beautiful creatures in nature. Featuring 32 stunning line art designs of songbirds, hummingbirds, butterflies, and various types of pollinators, this coloring book for adults also includes a small caption for every illustration detailing the habitat and unique qualities of the featured subject, making this coloring book perfect for avid bird watchers and outdoor enthusiasts! Each frame-worthy and giftable design is printed on a single side of high-quality, extra-thick paper with perforated edges for easy removal and display.
The Pollinators Coloring Book: 21 North American Birds, Bees, Butterflies, Moths, and Beetles to Color
Melissa Washburn
The Pollinators Coloring Book features 24 pages full of birds, butterflies, bees, moths, and beetles and some of their favored native wildflowers to color. Great for all ages, the book also includes some resources on how to support pollinators in your own back yard!
Backyard Pollinators: A Partnership with Plants
Cordelia Norris, Tiffany Miller Russell, Trudy Smoke Robbins
Featuring over 60 exceptional illustrations by leading scientific illustrators, Backyard Pollinators is an invaluable companion for gardeners, nature lovers, and anyone wanting to learn more about their own backyard. This educational coloring book showcases key species across the diverse range of pollinators found in North America, as well as a few delightful surprises. Each entry is accompanied with informative text illuminating unique pollinator/plant relationships and strategies. You’ll gain a new lens to understand the activity happening at your feet and in your backyard.
Gardening for Pacific Northwest Wildlife
Books
Curious Kids Nature Guide: Explore the Amazing Outdoors of the Pacific Northwest
Fiona Cohen
Did you know that baby raccoons are smaller than a bar of soap? Or that salmon smell using little pits in the front of their eyes? Curious Kids Nature Guide is filled with full-color illustrations and fun facts about the natural wonders of the Pacific Northwest, encouraging kids to discover and explore nature in their own backyards and beyond. Organized by habitat—forest, beach, fresh water, and backyards and urban parks—this book will teach kids about some of the most intriguing flora, fauna, and natural phenomena of the region while also sharing ecological lessons.
Curious Kids Nature Journal: 100 Ways to Explore the Outdoor Wonders of the Pacific Northwest
Fiona Cohen
This outdoor journal and activity book, organized by ecosystem, is the perfect complement to the Curious Kids Nature Guide. Kids are encouraged to use their senses to explore nature in their own backyards and beyond and make observations. Over 100 color and scientifically accurate illustrations help kids more easily look for and identify plants and animals, as well as natural phenomena, such as animal tracks and nurse logs. Writing, drawing, and activity prompts inspire kids to record and track their observations.
A Kid’s Guide to Plants of the Pacific Northwest With Cool Facts, Activities and Recipes
Philippa Joly
This middle-grade-friendly introduction to Pacific Northwest flora, with outdoor activities, games and quizzes that make learning about nature fun! Great for families and educators. Get dirty digging up roots. Crouch down to look closely at a carnivorous sundew dissolving a dragonfly. Munch some lemony-tasting miner’s lettuce. Go on a scavenger hunt for some of nature’s more surprising creations, like the arbutus tree, a sculpture of living copper. Make a soothing plantain salve to treat an itch. Learn which berries you can eat and which to avoid.
