“What are the best books about Plants?” We looked at 299 of the top Plant Related books, aggregating and ranking them so we could answer that very question!

The top 17 titles, all appearing on 2 or more “Best Plant” book lists, are ranked below by how many lists they appear on. The remaining 275+ titles, as well as the lists we used are in alphabetical order at the bottom of the page.

Happy Scrolling!

Top 17 Plant Books

17 .) A Seed is Sleepy written by Dianna Aston

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• This Reading Mama

Award-winning artist Sylvia Long and author Dianna Hutts Aston have teamed up again to create this gorgeous and informative introduction to seeds. Poetic in voice and elegant in design, the book introduces children to a fascinating array of seed and plant facts, making it a guide that is equally at home being read on a parent’s lap as in a classroom reading circle.

16 .) Homegrown Herbs: A Complete Guide to Growing, Using, and Enjoying More than 100 Herbs written by Tammi Hartung

Lists It Appears On:

• Bonnie Plants
• Mountain Rose Herbs

Enjoy a thriving, fragrant herb garden and use your harvest to bring beauty, flavor, and health to your everyday life. Tammi Hartung provides in-depth profiles of 101 popular herbs, including information on seed selection, planting, maintenance, harvesting, and drying. Hartung also shows you how to use your herbs in a variety of foods, home remedies, body care products, and crafts. Whether you’re a seasoned herbalist or planting your first garden, Homegrown Herbs will inspire you to get the most out of your herbs.

15 .) My Garden written by Kevin Henkes

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• This Reading Mama

The girl in this book grows chocolate rabbits, tomatoes as big as beach balls, flowers that change color, and seashells in her garden. How does your garden grow?

14 .) Oh, Say Can You Seed?

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom

With the able assistance of Thing 1 and Thing 2 — and a fleet of Rube Goldbergian vehicles — the Cat in the Hat examines the various parts of plants, seeds, and flowers; basic photosynthesis and pollination; and seed dispersal.

13 .) One Bean written by Anne Rockwell

Lists It Appears On:

• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

What happens when you plant just one little bean? A fundamental childhood experiment charmingly unfolds in this first science book about planting and observation. A perfect balance of simple narration and cheerful, thoughtful three-dimensional paper sculptures just right for the very young, One Bean carefully and joyfully takes the young observer step-by-step through a plant’s growth cycle, from planting the bean in a paper cup to the tasty results. Created with respect to the developmental needs of the youngest learner, here’s a concept book that tips its hat to children’s never-ending curiosity about the world around them.

11 .) The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, Mushrooms, Fruits, and Nuts: How to Find, Identify, and Cook Them written by Katie Letcher Lyle

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Mountain Rose Herbs

An illustrated field guide to the most common edible wild plants, complete with recipes and folklore.

10 .) The Curious Garden

Lists It Appears On:

• Read Brightly
• Table Life Blog

One boy’s quest for a greener world… one garden at a time. While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world. This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.

9 .) The Empty Pot written by Demi

Lists It Appears On:

• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

An IRA-CBC Children’s Choice. An American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists.” When Ping admits that he is the only child in China unable to grow a flower from the seeds distributed by the Emperor, he is rewarded for his honesty.

8 .) The Secret Life of Trees written by Colin Tudge

Lists It Appears On:

• Five Books
• Goodreads

7 .) The Tiny Seed

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom

In autumn, a strong wind blows flower seeds high in the air and carries them far across the land. 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.

6 .) A Tree is a Plant written by Clyde R. Bulla

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

A tree is the biggest plant that grows. Trees can live for a very long time, and they are alive all year long, even when they look dead in winter. In this newly illustrated book, you will learn how a tree grows and how it gets food and water. You can also find out what happens to water after it travels through a tree’s roots, branches, and leaves, and how to figure out a tree’s age. Clyde Robert Bulla’s simple and concise text and Stacey Schuett’s lush illustrations follow a tree’s continuous life cycle through spring, summer, winter, and fall.

5 .) Flip, Float, Fly!

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

Fans of From Seed to Plant, a perennial seller by Gail Gibbons, will want this lushly illustrated picture book. A gust of wind lifes a maple seed, sending it spinning like a shiny green helicopter throught the sky. Where wil it land? From splashing away in a raindrop to scurrying with scampering squirrels to hitching rides on your sleeves and socks, seeds have many ingenious ways to traveling to new laces, growing roots, and beginning the cycle again.

4 .) From Seed to Plant written by Gail Gibbons

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

Flowers, trees, fruits–plants are all around us, but where do they come from? With simple language and bright illustrations, non-fiction master Gail Gibbons introduces young readers to the processes of pollination, seed formation, and germination. Important vocabulary is reinforced with accessible explanation and colorful, clear diagrams showing the parts of plants, the wide variety of seeds, and how they grow. The book includes instructions for a seed-growing project, and a page of interesting facts about plants, seeds, and flowers. A nonfiction classic, and a perfect companion for early science lessons and curious young gardeners. According to The Washington Post, Gail Gibbons “has taught more preschoolers and early readers about the world than any other children’s writer-illustrator.” Ms. Gibbons is the author of more than 100 books for young readers, including the bestselling titles From Seed to Plant and Monarch Butterfly. Her many honors include the Washington Post/Childrens Book Guild Nonfiction Award and the NSTA Outstanding Science Trade Book Award. From Seed to Plant was included in the Common Core State Standards Appendix B.

3 .) How a Seed Grows written by Helene J. Jordan

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

How does a tiny acorn grow into an enormous oak tree? With beautiful and accurate watercolor illustrations from Loretta Krupinski, this book by Helene Jordan traces the process of how a little seed grows into the plants and trees that surround us. This is a Stage 1 Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out, which means the book explains simple science concepts for preschoolers and kindergarteners. Let’s-Read-And-Find-Out is the winner of the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Subaru Science Books & Films Prize for Outstanding Science Series. Supports the Common Core Learning Standards and Next Generation Science Standards.

2 .) The Dandelion Seed written by Joseph P. Anthony

Lists It Appears On:

• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom
• This Reading Mama

The last dandelion seed clings to the flower until it is blown away to discover there is more to the world than it had believed.

1 .) The Reason for Flowers: Their History, Culture, Biology, and How They Change Our Lives written by Stephen Buchmann

Lists It Appears On:

• Goodreads
• Table Life Blog
• The Measured Mom

Cultural history at its best—the engaging, lively, and definitive story of the beauty, sexuality, ecology, myths, lore, and economics of the world’s flowers, written by a passionately devoted author and scientist, and illustrated with his stunning photographs. Flowers, and the fruits that follow, feed, clothe, sustain, and inspire all humanity. They have done so since before recorded history. Flowers are used to celebrate all-important occasions, to express love, and are also the basis of global industries. Americans buy ten million flowers a day and perfumes are a worldwide industry worth $30 billion dollars annually. Yet, we know little about flowers, their origins, bizarre sex lives, or how humans relate and depend upon them. Stephen Buchmann takes us along on an exploratory journey of the roles flowers play in the production of our foods, spices, medicines, perfumes, while simultaneously bringing joy and health. Flowering plants continue to serve as inspiration in our myths and legends, in the fine and decorative arts, and in literary works of prose and poetry. Flowers seduce us—and animals, too—through their myriad shapes, colors, textures, and scents. And because of our extraordinary appetite for more unusual and beautiful “super flowers,” plant breeders have created such unnatural blooms as blue roses and black petunias to cater to the human world of haute couture fashion. In so doing, the nectar and pollen vital to the bees, butterflies, and bats of the world, are being reduced. Buchmann explains the unfortunate consequences, and explores how to counter them by growing the right flowers. Here, he integrates fascinating stories about the many colorful personalities who populate the world of flowers, and the flowers and pollinators themselves, with a research-based narrative that illuminates just why there is, indeed, a Reason for Flowers.

The 275+ Additional Best Plant Related Books

16 Best Plant Book Sources/Lists