It’s April and we’ve been out in the garden. Well, let me rephrase that previous statement, we planted the seedlings and then for the past 10 days the weather has been all over the place, so we only managed to get back out in the garden once and plant green onion and radishes. Hopefully the weather will warm up this week and we can get back out there and get more seeds into the ground. Until then we’re reading all the garden books we can for inspiration and to further our knowledge about working in our raised beds. 

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The Wall and the Wild by Christina Dendy

Ana has a well tended garden, she looks for the perfect seeds and anything that doesn’t meet her approval get thrown out. Ana is so busy trying to keep everything perfect she ends up building a wall to keep out everything else, which blocks out the Sun and makes her garden suffer. How will Ana fix her garden, will she figure out how to let the Sunlight back in? Read and find out. 

Thank you, Garden by Liz Garton Scanlon

Simple text great for older toddlers and preschoolers who need a quick yet impactful story about community gardens. The story is truly told through the illustrations and older children can explore each page and how the garden changes over time. This book was exciting for my kiddos because we recently visited our community garden and although the plots are bare right now, we know they will soon be bursting with life. 

Jayden’s Impossible Garden by Mélina Mangal 

 Jayden feels called to nature even though he lives in an apartment in the city. There is just one problem, his mother, she is constantly telling him that there is no nature in the city. Will Jayden be able to prove to his mother that nature is everywhere? Read this book to discover how Jayden with the help of his neighbor builds a garden that his mother thinks is “impossible”.

One Little Lot: The 1-2-3s of an Urban Garden by Diane C. Mullen

 Yes, to this book! Inspiring and relatable for my family. In our city we have “Giving Groves” that are maintained by different community organizations in partnership with the local community garden. Anyone can pick the fruit from these trees whenever they would like in the hope that it will lessen food insecurity in some neighborhoods. This book helps children to see how an abandoned public space can be turned into something that benefits the community.  

Me, Toma and the Concrete Garden by Andrew Larsen

 Vincent is spending the Summer with his Aunt and it looks like he’s going to be bored and lonely. But he meets a friend named Toma, and the boys accidentally plant a flower garden in the middle of the grey housing units. This book connects the reader with the realness of living in a place that’s dreary and even dirty but also with how friendship isn’t deterred by environments. 

Harlem Grown: how one big idea transformed a neighborhood by Tony Hillery

 We read this book last year and the kids loved it so much that I got it from the library again this Spring. I highly recommend this book for all families, but especially those who don’t have experience with life in the city and how sometimes empty lots and abandoned buildings are just as much a part of the landscape as Targets and gyms are in the suburbs. This true story follows a volunteer changed the landscape of a school which in turn changed the children and the neighborhood for good. Access to good food really can change the trajectory of someone’s life.

Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table by Jacqueline Briggs Martin

 When this former basketball star decided to start an urban garden he found quite the uphill battle. He knew how important it was to have good food and to share it with others, but could he turn an abandoned city lot into a sustainable garden? Yes, he does that and more, this true story is a testament to hard work, imagination and ingenuity.