Jim and the Beanstalk

Raymond Briggs

A retelling of the traditional Jack and the Beanstalk story by the well-loved children's author and illustrator Raymond Briggs (author of 'The Snowman' and 'Ug: Boy Genius of the Stone Age'). In this version, the giant has become weary with old age. When a young boy called Jim discovers a beanstalk, he climbs up it and tries to help the giant by providing him with glasses, false teeth and a wig. But will Jim survive when the giant regains his appetite?

Ten Seeds

Ruth Brown

A great book to introduce the idea of seed dispersal and life cycles. It tells the story of ten seeds, only one of which survives to grow into a lovely sunflower and produces new seeds to start the cycle again. The illustrations are full of detail and the text is compelling and accessible.

Eddie's Garden: and How to Make Things Grow

Sarah Garland

This picture book tells the story of a little boy called Eddie who wanted to make a garden. Eddie learns how to plant seeds and patiently care for them, as his garden becomes filled with all sorts of plants, flowers and vegetables. 

Oliver's Vegetables

Vivian French and Alison Bartlett

This popular picture book tells the story of fussy eater Oliver, who will not eat anything but chips. One day Grandpa sets him a challenge that helps him to learn to try new foods from the vegetable patch and Oliver is surprised by what he finds out. 

Tree: Seasons Come, Seasons Go

Patricia Heggarty and Britta Tekentrup

This beautifully illustrated book follows the seasonal changes of a tree through the four seasons. Dotted with hidden animals scampering through cut paper holes, each page of 'Tree: Seasons Come, Seasons Go' allows its reader to investigate and explore one tree’s rich and varied life cycle.

I Really Wonder What Plant I'm Growing (Charlie and Lola)

Lauren Child

Lola is not very impressed by the tiny seed that does not seem to be doing anything in a hurry. But big brother Charlie is on hand to explain with the right care and a little patience, something exciting will grow. 

A Little Guide to Wild Flowers

Charlotte Voake

Learn how to identify different wild flowers and find out more about what is growing in your local area. The informative guide is accompanied by watercolour illustrations and is a good choice of book if you want to get out and about to do some plant-spotting. 

The Little Gardener

Emily Hughes

A beautifully illustrated story about a very tiny boy who works hard to tend to a struggling garden. The garden is wild and unruly and the boy works with persistence to try and make something beautiful grow there. 

The Last Wolf

Mini Grey

This is a twist on the traditional Little Red Riding Hood story with a clear message about environmental sustainability. When Little Red is invited in for tea at the Last Wolf’s house, which also happens to be the home of the Last Lynx and the Last Bear, she soon comes to empathise with her new friends as she learns how the destruction of their natural habitat is the cause of the endangering of a number of wonderful forest species. After she is chaperoned home, Little Red sets about to make a plan to help restore some of the damage and learns how to plant new trees to repopulate the forest for the future. 

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• March 2018 Books of the Month

Titch

Pat Hutchins

It's not easy being the smallest in the family, like Titch. But Titch soon discovers that even something as tiny as a little seed has the potential to grow into a plant that is very big indeed. A story for anyone who has ever felt small.

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Also features on:

• All About Me Booklist

Secrets of the Vegetable Garden: A Shine-a-Light Book

Carron Brown

We absolutely adore Shine-a-Light books. These wonderfully engaging picture books invite readers to interact by shining a torch through each page to reveal hidden details in the pictures, such as the tiny creatures feeding on the soil and the seeds inside the pod.  The pictures, hidden images and text work together to create perfectly interactive information books that both delight and intrigue their readers. Remember to supply a torch too!

The Growing Story

Ruth Krauss & Helen Oxenbury

This is an enchanting story about a boy who watched living things grow and change through the seasons. Just as he begins to think that he will be small forever, he learns to see the signs that he is growing and changing too. 

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Also features on:

• All About Me Booklist

The Enormous Potato

Aubrey Davis

This is the classic Enormous Turnip story retold with a potato. After the potato turns into the biggest potato in the world, the farmer must call for reinforcements in order to get the potato out of the ground.

It Starts With a Seed

Laura Knowles & Jennie Webber

Follow the journey of a tiny sycamore seed as it becomes a sapling and then grows over time to become an enormous tree that houses all sorts of life. This is a gentle and lyrical text with beautiful illustrations. 

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Bonkers About Beetroot

Cath Jones & Chris Jevons

This is a truly original picture book that, like its name, is just a bit bonkers! It tells the story of an innovative zebra who is looking for a way to bring in visitors to Sunset Safari Park to save it from being closed down. In true entrepreneurial spirit, Zebra decides to grow the world’s most enormous beetroot which, with a nod to the story of the Enormous Turnip, becomes so big that the only thing to do is to eat it. However, eating the beetroot has unintentional and colourful consequences for Zebra in a humorous twist. 

Also features on: Reading for Pleasure Blog

Plants (Amazing Science)

Sally Hewitt

This is a colourful non-fiction text that is good for supporting a growing plants topic in KS1. Each topic covered includes key facts, photographs, activity ideas and vocabulary to help to build an understanding of the science behind the topic. 

RHS Ready, Steady, Grow!

Royal Horticultural Society

This text contains pages of instructions for different gardening projects for children. If you are looking for a good example of instructional texts, this one is clear, accessible and contains quality photographs of each stage. 

A Seed is Sleepy

Dianna Aston & Sylvia Long

This beautifully illustrated non-fiction text showcases how amazing seeds are. Each page shows how different types of seeds are perfectly adapted to survive, spread and grow into amazing plants. The text is poetic and the botanical illustrations are beautiful and detailed. ​If it never occurred to you to appreciate how amazing seeds can be, it will after reading this!

Wangari's Trees of Peace: A True Story from Africa

Jeanette Winter

This beautiful and factual picture book about Wangari Maathai is inspiring and full of hope.  The devastating impact of deforestation is made starkly clear but it is counterbalanced by the actions taken by first Wangari Maathai and then more and more women until millions of trees had been planted and healing began. 

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Also features on:

• Environmental Sustainability 

Katie and the Sunflowers

James Mayhew

Katie likes helping Grandad in the garden and she really wants to grow her own sunflowers. When she looks at Van Gogh's famous painting of sunflowers, Katie reaches in to grab some seeds, not realising how it might have a knock-on effect on lots of different paintings in the gallery! 

The Boy Who Grew Dragons

Andy Shepherd

The first in a series of three short chapter books from debut author Andy Shepherd, this hugely entertaining adventure about a small boy and his pet dragon would make a super read-aloud for year 2 classes. Tomas is busy in the garden with Grandad, planning which fruits to grow that might be turned into delicious jams or tarts. When Tomas stumbles across a strange tree with curious-looking fruit, he never expects that what might emerge from the fruit is a real live dragon! This is an adventure that is humorous at every turn, but also full of heart. Tomas is a great positive role model for showing how young people can apply curiosity and creativity to the process of growing and nurturing plants and see ‘magic’ in the course of it.

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• Reading for Pleasure Blog