From the Ground Up: The buzz on some great children’s books 

You’ve probably noticed that there are a lot of national and even world “days” on the calendar. For instance, along with traditional dates like Mothers Day and Fathers Day there’s hardly a date on the calendar that doesn’t have at least one observance attached to it. These run the gamut, from something as lighthearted as National Sunglasses Day to something as serious as World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought.

Some events are important enough to have an entire week or more devoted to them. One of those is National Pollinator Week (June 16-22). The week-long celebration and awareness campaign focuses on pollinators—bees, butterflies, bats—and their vital role in ecosystems and food production and ways you can help support them. This includes planting native plants, reducing or eliminating pesticide use, and providing a water source and shelter.

Learning more about pollinator species is another way to help. And, just in time for National Pollinator Week, I have two children’s books to recommend you.

“My Pollinator Garden” visually captivates with bold, colorful illustrations. There are pictures of bright flower beds overflowing with blossoms of all different colors, and spreads where plants such as phlox and agave glow out of a dark sky to highlight nighttime pollinators. Some of the illustrations are way larger than life size so that you can see all the details of flowers and the bees that visit them.

I love how the author and illustrator collaborated to make the story personal to individual bee species and the plants they feed on and from which they collect and distribute pollen. You get to see the connections. The illustrations take you even closer than if you were to get your nose right into a flower. For instance, you can see grains of pollen clinging to the bees and see the translucence of bees’ wings.

The book mentions many different species of pollinators and host plants and gives their scientific names along with the more familiar common names. This makes the book a perfect entry point to lead a curious child into a deeper exploration of the natural world. (My Pollinator Garden, by Jordan Zwetchkenbaum, illustrated by Kate Cosgrove, Holiday House, 2025)

“The Great Pollinator Count” takes the reader from observation to participation as it follows a children’s science club engaged in counting all the insects they can see in their school’s pollinator garden.

One of the things I love about this book, similar to “My Pollinator Garden,” is that the illustrations bring the reader “up close and personal” to the flowers and insects. It’s also a nice feature that the story line acknowledges that not everyone is comfortable around insects and that’s okay. As the children work on counting, we get to see their evolving data collection sheets. The way that the data is displayed helps to break down the vast world of insects and makes it easy for kids to become familiar with some of the basic groups of pollinator species. (The Great Pollinator Count, by Susan Edwards Richmond, illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman, Peachtree Books, 2025)

Note: “Pollinator Week 2025 is a celebration of the vital role that pollinators play in our ecosystems, economies, and agriculture. Under the inspiring theme “Pollinators Weave Connections,” this year’s event urges us to appreciate the essential role pollinators play in creating and expressing human culture, in all of its forms. These essential creatures, including bees, butterflies, moths, bats, beetles, and hummingbirds, are the unsung heroes behind the food we enjoy and the beauty that surrounds us. As we reflect on the interconnectedness of our world, let’s unite in a collective effort to protect and preserve these crucial pollinators.” More information at pollinator.org/pollinator-week.

Pam Baxter is an avid organic vegetable gardener who lives in Kimberton. Direct e-mail to pamelacbaxter@gmail.com, or send mail to P.O. Box 80, Kimberton, PA 19442. Pam’s new book, Listening to Nature’s Voice, is now available on Amazon. For more information or to sign up for her newsletter, visit her website: pamelabaxterbooks.com.

Source: Berkshire mont