Zinnia's Flower Garden [Hardcover]

Monica Wellington (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 3, 2005 | Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Zinnia grows many kinds of flowers in her garden. Sunflowers, sweet peas, and (of course) zinnias bloom in the sunshine. Customers come to pick their own bunches of flowers. Bouquet-bright artwork shows all Zinnia's tasks, from planting the seeds to cutting the beautiful blooms. The perfect tie-in to elementary biology units about plant growth-and school gardens-this book will be especially welcomed by teachers. It is a splendid addition to Monica Wellington's nonfiction for the very young and a true spring delight that's good in any season.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2 - Wellington's familiar gouache cartoons skillfully meld with photographs of flowers for a merry trek through every season of gardening. Red-haired Zinnia, with the help of her cat and dog pals, demonstrates the skills that bring forth a brilliant wealth of blossoms. The author augments the discussion of the process with instructive border illustrations. Each spread also features tidbits of information such as the types of clouds, the life cycle of a butterfly, parts of a flower, or money math (atop the page of her lemonade and flower stand). Wellington wraps up the tale with a page of tips for growing one's own bouquets. A title that is rich in application and enjoyment. - Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Review

Rich in application and enjoyment. (School Library Journal)

[A] terrific introduction to the life cycle of plants and a good choice for young gardeners everywhere. (Kirkus Reviews) --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile; 1ST edition (February 3, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0525473688
• ISBN-13: 978-0525473688
• Product Dimensions: 9.7 x 8.1 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,022,825 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Will inspire children to want to garden, September 18, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Zinnia's Flower Garden (Paperback)

Monica Wellington, established author-illustrator has created another gem of a book in Zinnia's Flower Garden. This children's book chronicles a year in the life of a little girl's flower garden. Written for ages five and up, this book will have strong appeal for the budding green thumbs in your life. Several areas in this book are exceptional.

First, the language is beautiful! Children's books are known for their simple speech. While this book is easily understandable, Monica Wellington has created a story that sounds as pleasant as a flower garden is pretty. If you listen hard enough, you will surely hear some poetic devices beneath this lovely prose.

Second, the content of this book is unexpectedly rich. Zinnia's Flower Garden isn't just a story about a garden. It's also a child's instruction manual to creating such a garden. This book would be a great introduction to a gardening project with the little one in your life. While the storyline talks about creating a garden, the illustrations also include descriptions of cloud types, stages of germination, the life cycle of a butterfly, and a detailed description of the parts of a flower (we're talking stamen, pistil, stigma, etc.). Even a science teacher would be impressed by the amount of information contained in the illustrations of this book.

Overall, I found the visual appeal of this book to be mixed. The illustration is achieved by a collage of sorts with fabrics, photographs, and paper painted with gouche. While I loved the photographs, I found the painting to be over-simplistic and rather unappealing. However, this is actually a minor drawback as the book is rich in so many other ways.

Armchair Interviews says: Zinnia's Flower Garden is a book that can be brought out spring after spring--inspiring the next generation of gardeners!

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful gardening book, July 19, 2009

By 

S. Meldrum - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Zinnia's Flower Garden (Paperback)

My son has loved this book since he was 1 year old and is now 2. Although the story is targetted at an older child, he loves the pictures and the process of gardening, it also goes through the need for sunshine and rain for the garden to grow. In particular he loves to spot the mouse, worm, bird, cat and dog on each page. The text itself is a little long on each page for a young child, but we just read the first sentence and he seemed happy with this to get the gist of the book. He will definitely continue to grow into this book. A wonderful purchase for the budding gardener!