Recommended children's booklists sorted by age or topic

Topic: Plants & Trees KS2

Hilarious and truly original, here is a book with all the ingredients to take root and blossom wildly among the imaginations of young readers! We immediately loved the premise of the ‘surprising seeds’ that lead to an epidemic causing people to grow flowers out of their heads.

Sorrel Fallowfield is a rule follower. Never wishing to cause trouble for her overworked Mum or to break the strict rules of a perfection-demanding headteacher, Sorrel knows that she is in with an excellent chance of winning when school announces a competition to find the most perfectly-behaved student. Even better, the prize for the winner is a family holiday – which is exactly what Sorrel thinks her Mum needs the most.

Sorrel’s luck changes when a mysterious packet of seeds appears in her garden that have the most surprising effects. Before she knows it, the power of the seeds have taken root not just in Sorrel’s life but also in her whole community. Could nature be fighting back against a town that has eradicated all of its green spaces?

A stand-out story full of humour and heart.

Plants and Trees Topic Booklist

What makes ‘plants and trees’ such a fascinating science topic at KS2? Perhaps because trees are among the longest-living organisms on Earth and come in so many different shapes and sizes. Or maybe it’s because trees have been found to communicate to each other, or perhaps it’s the way that plants make their own food. Many children are also fascinated by the role plants and trees play in our planet’s ecosystem and are inspired to learn about our ability to step in and protect them. From petals and pollination to bark and branches, there’s plenty to enjoy in our selection of the best children’s books about plants and trees.

NB: This selection of books about plants and trees is aimed at children in KS2 (7-11). For books for younger children, try our Growing Plants KS1 list.

This impressive hardback is the closest thing you can get to a museum in book form. Exhibited in the pages are all sorts of plants from different habitats around the globe, displayed with beautiful botanical illustrations and informative text explaining the science behind how each plant looks and behaves. This is a beautiful non-fiction text to treasure and to amaze readers with the incredible diversity of the plant world. There is also an accompanying activity book (available here) and poster book (available here).

Flying Eye has built a reputation for publishing high-quality non-fiction for children and I Ate Sunshine For Breakfast is no exception. Its subtitle – A Celebration of Plants Around the World – is fitting, as the whole book bursts with colour, information and adoration.

The book is split into four main parts: All About Plants, World of Plants, From Breakfast Until Bedtime and The Power of Plants. Sections within these parts range from covering large concepts such as plants’ roles in food chains and food webs, down to the interesting details about how plants help us look after our teeth. There are various “DIY” investigations and experiments to try such as making invisible ink and creating bottle gardens. The book is visually stunning throughout and playfully illustrated as a flying insect pops up frequently to guide us through it all. I Ate Sunshine For Breakfast strikes a great balance between the everyday uses and marvels of plants and the science within this. 

Plants play a large role in the primary Science curriculum, and so this appealing book is a gem that could be dipped into again and again in KS2.

Imaginative and charming, The Boy Who Grew Dragons is a wonderfully whimsical story that kept me smiling the whole way through. The first in a series, this hugely entertaining adventure about a small boy and his pet dragon makes a super read-aloud for Year 3.

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.

Coupled with charming illustrations by Sara Ogilvie, this early chapter book makes a fantastic choice for newly confident readers just taking off with independent reading and it will also go down a storm as an entertaining story choice.

Discover 15 plants and fungi with heroic powers, then learn how to grow them. Meet their surprising relatives (the tasty tomato is a cousin of deadly nightshade!) and unearth their interesting histories (lettuce was the first vegetable to be grown in space!). Then follow step-by-step instructions to grow and care for each one, whether you have a big backyard garden or a sunny windowsill.

A quirky, colourful guide to the horrible, shocking and disgusting aspects of the science of life cycles and a fantastic way to inspire children in science learning. Killer Plants investigates all things green and gross, from insect-eating pitcher plants to giant lilies that smell of rotting corpses.

In collaboration with BBC Earth, this illustrated non-fiction book captures the intrigue, drama, and beauty of the groundbreaking BBC TV series: The Green Planet, presented by David Attenborough. In the world of plants, time passes more slowly, but if we speed months into minutes we can peer into this hidden world and realise: it’s a battleground. Plants are working to thwart their enemies, and to trick animals into working for them. Right under your feet, and all around you, is a secret world you’ve probably never noticed…. Discover all there is to love about our astonishing Green Planet, the stories of its inhabitants, and the challenges it faces.

Did you know that there are over 60,000 tree species? This stunning book explores the extraordinary diversity of trees and forests – the lungs of our earth.

A glorious celebration of trees by non-fiction specialist Nicola Davies, illustrated by rising star Lorna Scobie, creators of the beautiful The Variety of Life .

There is something to delight on every page with fascinating facts and figures. This exquisite book will encourage children to treasure the world’s biodiversity and help to stop it slipping away.

Magical interlinked stories about what one girl learns from talking to trees throughout Time and from around the world. Olive’s best friend is a four-hundred-year-old oak tree, and it is in danger. As she tumbles into its magic world, she makes it a promise. From deep roots to high branches, a Persian garden to an underwater forest, from tulip trees to wild apple to vengeful box, she listens to the trees telling stories for all time. And she keeps her promise. With a conservation message and facts about tree science alongside the magicand wonder of seven beautifully imagined original stories, this full-colour book enchants and reminds us of the importance of trees in our lives.

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