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Tuesday, May 16, 2000 By Karen MacPherson, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
Digging in the dirt is a favorite pastime for most children, who find that getting down to ground level is great entertainment.
Parents can capitalize on this love of the land by giving children a chance to learn about gardening. A couple of new children's books are chock-full of gardening advice, while several others -- including one by Caldecott Medalist Mary Azarian -- use the garden as a teaching tool.
Two garden guidance books -- "The Kids Can Press Jumbo Book of Gardening" (Kids Can, $14.95) and "Better Homes and Gardens New Junior Garden Book" (Meredith Books, $15.95) -- aim to make gardening easy and fun for children. Both are written by people who are knowledgeable about gardening and children. And both are targeted at ages 8 and up, although parents could certainly use the information in these books to work with younger children.
But there's a clear distinction between these books. The "Kids Can" book, written by Karyn Morris and illustrated by Jane Kurisu, is meant for adults and children who want to learn the basics of gardening in an easy-to-understand way. Everything you need to know to start a garden is right here in this book.
It's not a volume filled with jazzy graphics. Printed on what looks like drawing paper, the "Kids Can" book has a very muted, understated style. Yet it's filled with clearly written information, from reading plant labels to how to design a schoolyard garden to how to start a compost pile.
For children and adults who are interested in learning gardening from the ground up, the "Kids Can" book is the logical, and best, place to start.
The "Better Homes" book, meanwhile, hopes to inspire young gardeners by offering easy-to-follow instructions for several dozen garden-related projects, from a worm "tower" to a butterfly garden to a sunflower "house."
Author Felder Rushing gives some garden basics, but the focus of this book -- flashily illustrated by a team of artists -- is on creative projects. Each project is rated for difficulty, with one flower being the easiest and three flowers being the hardest.
While all of the projects involve gardens, not all involve gardening. Rushing includes directions for making a simple garden bench, "jewel"-encrusted garden stepping stones and a "wind glove."
If you and your family are more drawn to discrete garden projects than the joy and chore of daily gardening, the "Better Homes" book is the one for you.
Mary Azarian has been an avid gardener ever since she can remember. Now she distills her decades of gardening experiences in "A Gardener's Alphabet" (Houghton Mifflin, $16).
Each of the pages in this beautifully illustrated book highlights some aspect of gardens and gardening. It turns out that "x" -- usually a challenge for alphabet book authors -- actually is an easy letter to illustrate in a gardener's alphabet book; "xeriscape" is a type of desert garden.
This is pretty heady stuff for preschoolers just learning their alphabet, but why not stretch their minds a bit?
Azarian, a skilled woodblock artist, won the prestigious Caldecott Medal two years ago for illustrating "Snowflake Bentley." In "A Gardener's Alphabet," she captures both the enchantment and the work of gardens in her colorful, energetic woodcut illustrations.
Although the book is meant for preschoolers, Azarian opens it with a note for adults in which she explains her love of gardens, concluding with a Chinese proverb that states: "If you would be happy for life, plant a garden." In "A Gardener's Alphabet," Azarian plants the seed of lifelong learning for young readers. (Ages 3-6)
Give toddlers a taste of the joys of gardening in a brilliantly colored, pull-the-tab book, "Max Loves Sunflowers" (Hyperion, $12.95).
Author/illustrator Ken Wilson-Max is a veteran of the pull-the-tab form and uses his knowledge to good advantage. Young readers can help water the seeds, "grow" the flowers, and even open up the petals when the sunflowers have matured.
There's not much of a text here, but that won't matter to young readers. They'll be too busy with pulling the tabs and enjoying Wilson-Max's bold graphics.
"Max Loves Sunflowers" is part of a series featuring the curious toddler, and one of a growing number of books focusing on African-American characters. (Ages 1-4)
Young readers can get a close-up look at some plants they won't want to grow in an easy chapter book titled "Plants Bite Back!" (DK, $3.95).
Written by Richard Platt and illustrated with photographs, this book teaches children about plants that prickle, sting and eat insects. Some can even be used to kill humans.
Platt's text is clear and entertaining, complemented by the many photographs. Part of the "Eyewitness Readers" series, this volume is a "Level 3" reader, aimed at readers in grades two and three who can read by themselves.
Finally, readers of all ages will find inspiration about gardening -- and about life -- in the classic book "The Carrot Seed" (HarperTrophy, $4.95).
First published decades ago, "The Carrot Seed" is written by Ruth Krauss and illustrated by her husband, Crockett Johnson, best known for his book, "Harold and the Purple Crayon."
The story of "The Carrot Seed" is simplicity itself. A young boy plants a carrot seed and tends it faithfully. He also remains steadfastly confident that it will grow into a carrot, despite many naysayers around him. He is eventually rewarded for his faith with a blue ribbon-size carrot.
Johnson's line drawings seem childlike, yet there is a world of emotion in them.
"The Carrot Seed" is a lovely book that belongs in every home library. (Ages 3 and up)
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