Books for Teaching About Plants and Trees

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From Unit Plan: From Seed to Plant

Seeds, plants, flowers and trees are all around us. These books help children to look at their structures, varieties, and uses.

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall; illustrated by Shari Halpern
A little girl, her baby sister, and a nest of robins watch through the seasons for apples to grow on their apple pie tree.

Classroom Tip: Make apple pie with the children.

Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber; illustrated by Holly Keller
Children see and learn the many ways that trees are integral to the foods we eat, the products we make, and the animals that live in and around them.

Classroom Tip: Have children label things around the room that are made from trees.

From Seed to Plant by Gail Gibbons
This book explores the relationship between seeds and the plants which they produce.

Classroom Tip: Make a seed collage.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Tree starts out as a leafy playground, shade provider, and apple bearer for a rambunctious little boy and then gives up all for its friend as the boy grows into a man.

Classroom Tip: Adopt a tree on the school grounds, and care for it.

Growing Vegetable Soup by Lois Ehlert
This book illustrates the steps for growing a vegetable garden in preparation for vegetable soup.

Classroom Tip: Each child brings in a vegetable to make vegetable soup-use a couple of cans of vegetable soup as a starter.

Nature Upclose: A Dandelion's Life by John Himmelman
Beautiful watercolors depict the life of a dandelion.

Classroom Tip: Bring in different kinds of weeds and have children compare and contrast them.

One Child, One Seed: A South African Counting Book by Kathryn Cave; photographs by Gisele Wulfsohn
Count from 1 to 10 with young, South African Nothando as she plants a pumpkin seed that grows to bear fruit for a delicious stew.

Classroom Tip: Have children make their own counting book using a different kind of seed.

The Reason For a Flower by Ruth Heller
The reason for a flower is to manufacture seeds, but in this book children also learn about the parts of plants and their functions.

Classroom Tip: Bring in a variety of flowers for children to smell and observe.

Rookie Read-About Science, It Could Still Be a Tree by Allan Fowler
In simple text, this book identifies the characteristics of trees and provides specific examples, including the maple, evergreen, magnolia, and redwood.

Classroom Tip: Take a walk around the neighborhood and photograph different trees. Then research and identify them.

Russ and the Apple Tree Surprise by Janet Elizabeth Rickert; photographs by Pete McGahan
Russ, a five-year-old with Down syndrome, picks apples for an apple pie and then discovers his grandfather has made a swing hanging from the apple tree.

Classroom Tip: Discuss other ways we can use trees.

Seeds by Ken Robbins
Beautiful photographs help children learn how seeds grow, and how they vary in shape, size, and dispersal patterns.

Classroom Tip: Bring in vegetable and fruit to cut open and expose the seeds.

The Tiny Seed: Big Book & Teaching Guide by Eric Carle
The life cycle of a flower, from a tiny seed to maturity, is depicted.

Classroom Tip: Grow flowers from seeds.

The Tree by Dana Lyons; illustrated by David Danioth
An 800-year-old Douglas fir ponders the many things it has seen in the natural world and how the world would be different if it is not saved from destruction by bulldozers.

Classroom Tip: Discuss why trees are important to save and all the good things they provide for animals and people.

Welcome Books, Trees to Paper by Inez Snyder
Simple words and photographs show the steps involved in making paper.

Classroom Tip: Have each child bring in different kinds of paper to make paper collages.

Activity Plan 3-4: Sprouting Seeds
Children work in groups to grow their own sprouts.

Activity Plan 5-6: Plant Detectives
Children discuss the importance and relevance of plants, and then create their own plants from clay.

Activity Plan 4-5: Behold the Mold!
Children experiment with growing their own mold on food.

UNIT PLAN	Let's Plant! Explains how to teach children firsthand about plant parts, plant growth, and plant care.