Book picks similar to
Flowers Are Calling by Rita Gray


picture-books
picture-book
nature
non-fiction

Birds


Kevin Henkes - 2009
    A board book edition of the critically acclaimed picture book from the award-winning husband-and-wife team of Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek. An ALA Notable Book.Birds “will resonate with the youngest children,” said School Library Journal. With a fine eye for detail, a girl observes and describes birds—their sizes, their colors, their shapes, the way they move and appear and disappear, and how they are most like her. She imagines what it would be like if clouds looked like birds, or if she could ask the birds questions. Though she can’t fly, the girl can do one thing birds do—she can sing. Vibrant and lively paintings accompany a text pitched precisely to preschoolers in this husband-and-wife collaboration. This board book edition offers a fresh perspective and a new point of view to very young children. Booklist said, “Together, the words and pictures create a book that will enchant preschool audiences again and again.”

Abracadabra, It's Spring!


Anne Sibley O'Brien - 2016
    Eleven gatefolds open to re-create the excitement and surprise of spring’s arrival, revealing what happens when snow melts, trees bud, flowers bloom, birds arrive, and eggs and cocoons hatch. Finally, it’s warm enough to pack away winter clothes and go out and play!

Miss Maple's Seeds


Eliza Wheeler - 2013
    She takes them on field trips to explore places to grow. In her cozy maple tree house, she nurtures them; keeping them safe and warm until it's time for them to find roots of their own, and grow into the magnificent plants they’re destined to become.Eliza Wheeler’s luminous paintings feature gorgeous landscapes, lush foliage and charming details. Her tender story celebrates the potential found in each seed—since even the grandest tree and most brilliant flower had to grow from the smallest of seeds.Celebrate every season with Miss Maple, from Earth Day to graduations to harvest festivals.

A New Green Day


Antoinette Portis - 2020
    On each spread, children will solve riddles about the familiar animals, plants and the weather that one child encounters outdoors throughout a whole day.

The Tiny Seed


Eric Carle - 1970
    One by one, many of the seeds are lost -- burned by the sun, fallen into the ocean, eaten by a bird. But some survive the long winter and, come spring, sprout into plants, facing new dangers -- trampled by playing children, picked as a gift for a friend. Soon only the tiniest seed remains, growing into a giant flower and, when autumn returns, sending its own seeds into the wind to start the process over again. Eric Carle's eloquent text and brilliant collages turn the simple life cycle of a plant into an exciting story, a nature lesson, and an inspiring message of the importance of perseverance.

Weeds Find a Way


Cindy Jenson-Elliott - 2013
    With lovely language and a sly sense of humor, this beautiful picture book celebrates the tenacious temperaments of these pesky plants and is sure to have little ones chanting, “Way to go, weeds!”

Actual Size


Steve Jenkins - 2004
    Sometimes you need to see things for yourself—at their actual size.

Jack's Garden


Henry Cole - 1995
    'This is the garden that Jack planted...' The final illustration presents a satisfied-looking boy surrounded by a lush, bird-filled flower garden....A concluding page of gardening suggestions serves as a springboard to books with more specific guidelines."--Horn Book.

All the Water in the World


George Ella Lyon - 2011
    A lively and inspiring poem weaves together facts about water and the need for water conservation.

Because of an Acorn


Lola M. Schaefer - 2016
    Enchanting die-cuts illustrate the vital connections between the layers of an ecosystem in this magical book. Wander down the forest path to learn how every tree, flower, plant, and animal connect to one another in spiraling circles of life. An acorn is just the beginning.

Gravity


Jason Chin - 2014
    As in his previous books, Redwoods, Coral Reefs, and Island, Jason Chin has taken a complex subject and made it brilliantly accessible to young readers in this unusual, innovative, and very beautiful book. A Neal Porter Book

Compost Stew


Mary McKenna Siddals - 2010
    Not only is composting becoming more common in households and residential gardens, but many school gardens feature compost piles, too. But how do you start a compost pile? What’s safe to include? Perfect for an Earth Day focus or year-round reference, this inviting book provides all the answers for kids and families looking for simple, child-friendly ways to help the planet.

Planting the Wild Garden


Kathryn O. Galbraith - 2011
    In the wild garden, many seeds are planted too, but not by farmers' hands. Different kinds of animals transport seeds, often without knowing it. Sometimes rain washes seeds away to a new location. And sometimes something extraordinary occurs, like when the pods of Scotch broom burst open explosively in the summer heat, scattering seeds everywhere like popcorn.Kathryn Galbraith's lyrical prose seamlessly combines with Wendy Halperin's elegant, crisp illustrations to show how many elements work together through the seasons to create and sustain the wild meadow garden.

If Sharks Disappeared


Lily Williams - 2017
    They can be big, like a whale, tiny, like a shrimp, and even scary, like a shark.Even though sharks can be scary, we need them to keep the oceans healthy. Unfortunately, due to overfishing, many shark species are in danger of extinction, and that can cause big problems in the oceans and even on land.What would happen if this continued and sharks disappeared completely?Artist Lily Williams explores how the disappearance would affect other animals across the whole planet in this clever book about the importance of keeping sharks, and our oceans, healthy.

The Stuff of Stars


Marion Dane Bauer - 2018
    . . nothing. But then . . . BANG! Stars caught fire and burned so long that they exploded, flinging stardust everywhere. And the ash of those stars turned into planets. Into our Earth. And into us. In a poetic text, Marion Dane Bauer takes readers from the trillionth of a second when our universe was born to the singularities that became each one of us, while vivid illustrations by Ekua Holmes capture the void before the Big Bang and the ensuing life that burst across galaxies. A seamless blend of science and art, this picture book reveals the composition of our world and beyond -- and how we are all the stuff of stars.