Just in time for National Pollinator Week we have a list of children’s books about the importance of pollinators and how to protect them.
Check out the links below to our lists of books about:
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Beginning Reader
Animal Pollinators by Jennifer Boothroyd
Emphasis is often put on the importance of insect pollinators like bees and butterflies, but learn how animals like hummingbirds, mice, and bats also help pollinate plants. Simple text is perfect for beginning readers.
Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Publisher: Lerner Publishing Group (January 1, 2015)
ISBN-10: 1467760692
ISBN-13: 978-1467760690
Picture Books
No Monkeys, No Chocolate by Melissa Stewart, Allen Young, and illustrated by Nicole Wong
Young readers learn that cacao trees need the help of a menagerie of rain forest critters to survive: a pollen-sucking midge (previous post at Growing with Science), an aphid-munching anole lizard, and brain-eating coffin fly maggots. Reviewed at Wrapped in Foil.
Reading age : 5 – 8 years
Publisher : Charlesbridge; Reprint edition (July 3, 2018)
ISBN-10 : 1580892884
ISBN-13 : 978-1580892889
POLLEN: Darwin’s 130-Year Prediction by Darcy Pattison and illustrated by Peter Willis
Reveals how long it may take for science to find an answer to a problem. In 1862, naturalist Charles Darwin received a box of orchids. When he saw one of the flowers, the Madagascar star orchid, he wondered how insects could pollinate it, and he made some predictions that it was a moth.
Fast forward 130 years. In 1992, German entomologist, Lutz Thilo Wasserthal, Ph.D. traveled to Madagascar. By then, the moths were rare. He managed to capture two moths and released them in a cage with the orchid. Would they pollinate the orchid as Darwin had predicted?
Reading age : 6 – 9 years
Publisher : Mims House; Illustrated edition (April 23, 2019)
ISBN-10 : 1629441201
ISBN-13 : 978-1629441207
13 Ways to Eat a Fly by Sue Heavenrich and illustrated by David Clark
Although it is more about who and what eats flies, this book features some flies that pollinate plants (previous review).
Reading age : 4 – 8 years
Publisher : Charlesbridge (February 16, 2021)
ISBN-10 : 1580898904
ISBN-13 : 978-1580898904
Flower Talk: How Plants Use Color to Communicate by Sara C. Levine and illustrated by Masha D’yans.
Narrated by the snarky purple cactus you see on the cover, Flower Talk explores why plants “talk” to animals via their flowers and how they entice the animals to carry their pollen from place to place. Levine goes into details about how the different flower colors attract different kinds of pollinators. She also notes that plants with green flowers, like grasses, “aren’t talking to anyone.” They are wind pollinated.
Masha D’yans’ amazing digitally-enhanced watercolor illustrations add just the right amount of fun to keep kids entranced.
Flower Talk is perfect for kids who love fiction as well as for kids who prefer nonfiction. Pick up a copy and find out what the “talk” is all about.
Age Range: 7 – 11 years
Publisher: Millbrook Press TM (March 5, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1541519280
ISBN-13: 978-1541519282
Bees, Bugs, and Butterflies: A Family Guide to Our Garden Heroes and Helpers by Ben Raskin
A fun mix of facts and activities.
Age Range: 4 – 8 years
Publisher: Roost Books (March 13, 2018)
ISBN-10: 1611805538
ISBN-13: 978-1611805536
Flowers Are Calling
With lightly-humorous, rhyming text, the author encourages children to compare kinds of animals that are attracted to flowers and serve as pollinators with animals that are not likely to be pollinators. Is a snake a pollinator? “No, not a snake, for goodness sake!” For a full review of the book see Wrapped in Foil.
Age Range: 4 – 7 years
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers (March 3, 2015)
ISBN-10: 0544340124
ISBN-13: 978-0544340121
What Is Pollination? by Bobbie Kalman
Shows not only how important pollination is, but also how pollinators are threatened.
Age Range: 7 – 10 years
Publisher: Crabtree Publishing Company (October 1, 2010)
ISBN-10: 0778733068
ISBN-13: 978-0778733065
The Reason for a Flower: A Book About Flowers, Pollen, and Seeds (Explore!) by Ruth Heller
Written in rhyme and illustrated with Heller’s unique, vibrant art. Older, but enjoyable for kids of all ages.
Age Range: 5 – 8 years
Publisher: Puffin Books; Reissue edition (February 15, 1999)
ISBN-10: 0698115597
ISBN-13: 978-0698115590
Middle Grade
Know Your Pollinators: 40 Common Pollinating Insects including Bees, Wasps, Flower Flies, Butterflies, Moths, & Beetles, with Appearance, Behavior, & How to Attract Them to Your Garden by Tim Harris
The title says it all. A series of two-page spreads featuring an eye-popping photograph of an insect (use the ‘look inside” feature on Amazon to see what I mean) and details of its behavior, distribution, etc. Includes 40 insect pollinators such as bees, butterflies, flower flies, beetles, moths, and wasps.
Note: If you are not familiar with the publisher, Old Pond Books specializes in books in the general area of agriculture.
Paperback: 96 pages
Publisher: Old Pond Books (March 17, 2020)
ISBN-10: 1912158558
ISBN-13: 978-1912158553
Pollinators: Animals Helping Plants Thrive (Team Earth) by Martha London
Visually appealing with large color photographs, this book explains the importance of pollination and discusses the specific animals that help pollinate. Includes activity suggestions.
Age Range: 8 – 12 years
Publisher: Core Library (December 15, 2019)
ISBN-10: 1532191006
ISBN-13: 978-1532191008
The Clover & the Bee; A Book of Pollination by Anne Ophelia Dowden
This classic title is amazing in its details. It is like an easy-to-read college textbook about plants and insects in condensed form.
In addition, the illustrations by the author are fabulous.
Age Range: 10 and up
Publisher: HarperCollins; 1st edition (May 1, 1990)
ISBN-10: 0690046774
ISBN-13: 978-0690046779
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Bonus:
Check the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign for a free 126 page pollinator curriculum (download) for Grades 3-6.
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