Vegetable Garden

by Douglas Florian

Children are fascinated by watching plants grow, and in this colorful picture book even very young children can follow along with a family as they plant, tend, and harvest a vegetable garden. The sun shines brightly, summer rain falls, and vegetables grow and ripen. “The watery, translucent watercolors . . . capture the vitality of all growing things, including the children.”-- The Horn Book

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Food, Childrens, Plants, Gardening

32 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1991

Reviews

[Alicia]

I read this in preparation for my gardening storytime. The book features few words and they rhyme throughout, but I had the hardest time with the illustrations. At first, I thought the book may have been water damaged because of the blur, but the art style is definitely unique. A quick read.

For: fans of gardens; readers looking for a simple book.

Possible red flags: some may find the book too simple.

[Nichole]

Nice simple rhyming.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian]

Simple sentences share the story from planting to harvest.

2021 storytime theme: Squash

[Judy Lindow]

A good teacher's permanent library book for Pre-K through 1st grade, depending.

Vegetable Garden is a simple, small poem, beautifully illustrated with early Florian; it matches his book A Potter in style and target age group. Why I like this book? Mainly because I like the garden, fresh food, nature curriculum - and this is perfect for spring to summer subject matter.

The large text, the simple words and rhymes, and the bright warm palette of the illustrations invites kids to read along. For example, the pages with text "Bright sunshine" and "Greens and reds" are simply gorgeous and you'll continue to enjoy looking at them through many re-readings. Although these early childhood books are basis of later, more sophisticated Florian work - I appreciate how there're able to depict how and what is being in the garden and support new vocabulary, as well as being beautiful.

It's hard not to find delight in a story told with pretty much no punctuation (3 commas); that makes the shower, cauliflower rhyme!

Vegetable Garden

"Spade, rake, hoe
Seeds in a row

Seedlings sprout
Weeding out

Cucumber vine
Bright sunshine

Greens and reds
Lettuce heads

Summer shower
Cauliflower

Big and round
Melon mound

Pea plants climb
Harvest time"

~Douglas Florian

Illustrations done in pen and ink and watercolor on vellum paper - Lithos Bold. Production supervision by Warren Wallerstein and Diana Ford. Type design by Lisa Peters.

[Julie Unruh]

This is not the book I read, the book I read is called "Vegetable Garden: A True Story" by Julie Unruh. It is about how she got a brain injury and how she has lived life with one and to tell the story to help others.

[Melanie Hetrick]

A very simple rhyming story that follows the process of planting, weeding, growing and harvesting vegetables in a garden. Great for toddlers.

[Leah]

A cute, very simple rhyming story that follows the process of planting, weeding, growing and harvesting vegetables in a garden. Great for younger grades!!

[Wendi]

A very rhyming book for kids. Every other page rhymes and keeps your mind womdering, what will happen next. You get to learn about a garden while you read.

[Aaliyah]

Very boring, and not very engaging. Aaliyah said, "I don't want to read that book," but then again I had a Peppa Pig book in my hand, so nothing really can top Peppa Pig in her eyes! hehehehe

[Daphne]

Another fantastic book by Douglas Florian, this one about the garden. With carefully selected rhymes, this sparsely worded clever book is perfect for toddler or preschool storytimes.

[Lauren]

Nice and simple book on what it takes to grow a garden and a few veggie and fruit pictures.

[Paula]

A family plants a vegetable garden and helps it grow to a rich harvest.

[IfCatsCouldRead]

Very simple text. It shows tools used in gardening. It is about growing things to eat. It shows many different fuits/veggies that you can grow and harvest.