Pass the Plants, Please

Don’t wash the dirt from last week off your hands yet! We’re going to keep digging in the dirt this week with Project Learning Tree’s “Pass the Plants, Please”. Many people garden during the summer and we all know that tomatoes, zucchini and potatoes come from plants. But what about tortillas? Fried rice? Or spaghetti? They all come from plants too, just like many of the other foods we enjoy. Explore what a big part plants play in your daily diet this week!

Family Fun:
Spend some time in your garden! Or if you don’t have a garden, grow some herbs in a pot in your kitchen, or a tomato plant on your patio. Observe how the plants grow. Reflect on all the uses humans and animals get from plants. Pull a few weeds and get your hands dirty!

Book List
Grades PreK-2
Berger, M. 1994. All about Seeds: A Hands-on Science Book. Scholastic, Inc.
Brown, P. 2009. The Curious Garden. Little, Brown Books for Young Readers.
Burnie, D. 2005. Plant. DK Publishing, Inc.
Carlson, L. 1995. Green Thumbs: A Kid’s Activity Guide to Indoor and Outdoor Gardening. Chicago Review Press, Inc.
Charman, A. 2003. I Wonder Why Trees Have Leaves and Other Questions about Plants. Houghton Mifflin Company.
Christensen, B. 1994. Edible Alphabet. Dial Books for Young Readers.
Claybourne, A. 2002. Plants. Raintree Publishers.
Cole, H. 1997. Jack’s Garden. HarperCollins Publishers.
Cole, J. 1995. The Magic School Bus Plants Seeds: A Book About How Living Things Grow. Scholastic, Inc.
Disalvo-ryan, D. 1994. City Green. HarperCollins Publishers.
Dixon, M. 1998. Plants around Us. Smart Apple Media.
Downden, A.O. 1984. From Flower to Fruit. Thomas Y. Crowell Co.
Ehlert, L. 1990. Growing Vegetable Soup. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Ehlert, L. 1992. Planting a Rainbow. Harcourt Children's Books.
Hewitt, S. 1999. Plants and Flowers. Scholastic Library Publishing.
Hickman, P. 1996. A Seed Grows: My First Look at a Plant's Life Cycle. Kids Can Press, Ltd.
Levenson, G. and S. Thaler. 2004. Pumpkin Circle: The Story of a Garden. Ten Speed Press.
Lovejoy, S. 1999. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children. Workman Publishing Company.
Mallett, D. and O. Eitan. 1997. Inch by Inch: The Garden Song. HarperCollins Publishers.
Morgan, S. 2004. Flowers, Fruits and Seeds. Thameside Press.
Morgan, S. 2004. Plants and People. Thameside Press.
Paulsen, G. and R. Paulsen. 1998. The Tortilla Factory. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.
Rubel, N. 2002. No More Vegetables. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.
Scrace, C. 2002. Growing Things. Franklin Watts.
Sekido, I. 1992. Fruits, Roots and Fungi: Plants We Eat. Lerner Publishing Group.
Wexler, J. 1988. Flowers, Fruits Seeds. Prentice Hall Books.
Wilson, K. and D. Andreasen. 2009. Mortimer’s First Garden. Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing.

Grades 3-5
Ball, J.A. 2002. Plants. Gareth Stevens Audio.
Burnie, D. 2004. Plant. DK Publishing, Inc.
Dow, L., S. Addario, and R. C. Carolin. Incredible Plants. Time-Life Custom Publishing.
Fernald, M.L. 1996. Edible Wild Plants of Eastern North America. Dover Publications.
George, J.C. 1995. Acorn Pancakes, Dandelion Salad, and 38 Other Wild Recipes. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Greenaway, T. 2000. Plant Life. Raintree Publishers.
Hughes, M.S. 2000. Green Power: Leaf and Flower Vegetables. Lerner Publishing Group.
Julivert, M.A. 1993. Life of Plants. Chelsea House Publishers.
Kalman, B. 2000. What Is a Plant? Crabtree Publishing Company.
Kirk, D.R. 1970. Wild Edible Plants of Western North America. Naturegraph Publishers, Incorporated.
Lovejoy, S. 1999. Roots, Shoots, Buckets & Boots: Gardening Together with Children. Workman Publishing Company.
McEvoy, P. 2003. Plants. Chelsea House Publishers.
Selsam, M.E. 1981. Plants We Eat. HarperCollins Publishers.
Spilsbury, L. 2002. Plant Parts. Heinemann Library.
Stewart, M. 2003. Plants. Capstone Press.
Wyatt, V. 2000. Wacky Plant Cycles. Mondo Publishing.

Grades 6-8
DK Publishing. 1992. Plants. DK CHILDREN.
George, J.C. 1982. Wild, Wild Cookbook: A Guide for Young Wild-Food Foragers. HarperCollins Children's Books.
Howell, L. 2002. World of Plants. E.D.C. Publishing.
Sweet, M. 2003. Common Edible and Useful Plants of the West. Naturegraph Publishers, Incorporated.
Winckler, S. 2002. Planting the Seed: A Guide to Gardening. Lerner Publishing Group.
Young, D.D. 1983. Wild Plants You Can Eat. Silver Burdett Press.

Grades 9-12
Elias, T.S. 1990. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide. Sterling Publishing Company, Incorporated.
Farndon, J. 2002. 1000 Things You Should Know about Plants. Mason Crest Publishers.
Forey, P. and C. Fitzsimons. 1989. An Instant Guide to Edible Plants. Random House Value Publishing, Incorporated.
Furlong, M. and V.B. Pill. 1974. Wild Edible Fruits and Berries. Naturegraph Publishers, Incorporated.
McGee, R.M.N., et al. 2002. Bountiful Container: How to Create Container Gardens of Vegetables, Herbs, Fruits, and Edible Flowers. Workman Publishing Company, Inc.
Schrock, D. 2004. Complete Guide to Vegetables, Fruit and Herbs: Planning, Planting, Growing, Harvesting. Meredith Books.
Waters, A. 2008. Edible Schoolyard: A Universal Idea. Chronicle Books, LLC.