Beth Richardson and Lynn Karlin (illustrator). Gardening With Children. Taunton Press. 1998.

This book presents a more traditional way of gardening with children. They are taught how to select plants, making garden plans, building gardens, preparing the soil, and planting and caring for garden plants in the first section of the book. The next section introduces gardens organized around a theme such as butterflies, pets, pasta toppings, pizza ingredients, and those emphasizing their ethnic heritage. This section also includes suggestions for family garden-related projects.

One of more of the suggested projects is sure to be just right for the children in your life. One of the easiest projects of all is starting seeds on a brick. You will find the directions for this project on page 65. Many children love finding "bugs". Have them search their garden for insects and help them learn if they have pests or beneficial insects.

This book was written for the adult rather than the children. I base this on the reading level, style of writing, and topics discussed. The language is clearly geared towards the parent or adult leader. For these reasons, I recommend this book for any adult seeking to introducing children to gardening.

If you are working with elementary aged children, I believe Gardening Wizardry for Kids, written by L. Patricia Kite, illustrated by Yvette Santiago Banek, and published by Barron's Educational Series, Inc. in 1995 to be more suitable.