The Ultimate Guide to Gardening

August 1, 2016

Gr 3-5-Children and parents will learn about a variety of gardening styles with this charming DIY guide. The book opens with some general tips about gardening and plant care and then presents ideas for growing edible, indoor, creative, and enchanted gardens. Many of the ideas can easily be altered to use materials available to readers. Amstutz provides suggestions for different varieties of plants, containers, and decorations for readers looking to modify the projects. While some suggestions, such as the Teacup Garden or the Scrappy Kitchen Garden, could be accomplished by children, most activities require adult assistance. Some of the projects, such as the Topsy Turvy Tin Cans and the Living Wall Art, are a bit advanced but could be fun for parent-child teams. The instructions are clear to follow, and the pictures give a good idea of what to expect. Sidebars offer interesting gardening tips and insights. The "Plant Problems" section in the back gives short but helpful explanations of issues that may plague plants. VERDICT A solid offering for libraries in need of additional DIY or gardening materials for young students.-Ellen Norton, Naperville Public Library, IL

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