Linnea's Windowsill Garden

by Christina Björk, Lena Anderson (Illustrator)

Linnea loves plants. She grows them all over her room - in pots, and crates, even in glass jars.
In this book, she takes you on a tour of her indoor garden. She tells you about her orange tree (and plantable pits and seeds, including melons, tomatoes, and grapes); she shows you how to take a cutting from a Busy Lizzie and how to trim an avocado plant.
And she teaches you what keeps plants satisfied: the art of watering properly (plants don't like standing with their feet in water) and fertilizing. And what to do when plants are attacked by whiteflies or other nasty bugs.
Linnea also makes garden-cress cheese (from homegrown cress, of course); discusses the pleasures and possible pitfalls of growing an amaryllis; and writes a plant newspaper, The Green Gazette.
"Linnea's Windowsill Garden" will informs and inspire anyone who wants to grow an indoor garden of their own.

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Gardening, Nonfiction, Nature, Science

60 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

"I was born in 1938 in Stockholm, Sweden, and I have been living there ever since. I love this city, built on some small islands between lake Mälaren and the sea. It’s a city with lots of water and trees and a lot of nature all around it.
I lived and went to school at the island Kungsholmen, just like my good friend and illustrator Lena Anderson. But our school was so big that we never met. I was the only child and got a lot of love and attention from my parents. Every night my father told me a story he had invented, often about my teddy bear, Nalle, and my toy monkey, Jakob, who flew away on my bed-carpet during the night."
Christina Björk's books have been translated into more than 20 languages.

Reviews

[Luisa Knight]

What a wonderful textbook alternative for your child!

Germination, pollination, seeds/food that you have at home you can plant, how much to water, how to get rid of bugs - every step from start to finish is easily and nicely outlined, with many illustrations, for your child to learn from!

A great way to gain knowledge and start your own little garden!

Ages: 6 - 12

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Michael Fitzgerald]

The only thing that could improve this would be a bit more color.

[Helen]

I read Linnea in Monet's Garden earlier this year and loved this. When I picked this one up I was expecting to be just as good but that is not the case. It would be a good reference for young readers that have a green thumb. or an interest. However, it was not for me and was a disappointment.

[April Rudolph]

Thought it was interesting that this book suggests to put a cigarette butt on top of the soil to kill worms that are underneath because the nicotine is poisonous...

[Taylor Kundel-Gower]

Haven't met a Linnea book that I haven't enjoyed!

[What April's Reading]

We've definitely read this quite a few times over the years for school. It's one of our favorites for gardening or science. Easy projects and information for any age.

[Jenna]

Voisi sanoa, että tässä on klassikko! Vaikka julkaisusta on aikaa, kirja on edelleen ajankohtainen. Meidän perhe piti kovasti Linnean ja Blomqvistin puutarha-puuhasteluista.

[Kelly Barker]

A delightful book for children who are interested in plants and how they grow. It would definitely be a useful tool to a nature study!

[Shirley]

Ein wunderbar unterhaltsames, teilweise philosophisches Kinderbuch über die Liebe zu Pflanzen und Blumen mit vielen Tipps und Tricks, einfach und liebevoll erklärt.

[Shakita]

I really liked this book. This is a great resource for plant lovers. Children can use this book as well adults. There are so many different projects you could do from this one book. One can learn about the different types of seeds you can plant, how to get rid of bugs, and what plants need to survive. I really liked the book because it had so much helpful information inside in kid-friendly manner. I would definitely have this in the classroom as a resource to use.

[Jennifer Heise]

I love this book-- it's one of the best ones I read as a child about gardening, especially windowsill gardening. I love the story parts and the charming illustrations, and Linnea's gardening friends. Some of the gardening advice may not be up to date, but it's at least as good as Roots Shoots Buckets and Boots. Meet Linnea. She's a young gardener's best friend.

[Jenna Morales]

Grade range for this project: 1-2
Good read-aloud? no
Focus for this project: Science curriculum - gardening/growing
Curricular tie-ins for this project: basic requirements for life; life cycles of plants; seasons

[Service Learning Coordinator]

Grade range for this project: 1-2
Good read-aloud? no
Focus for this project: Science curriculum - gardening/growing
Curricular tie-ins for this project: basic requirements for life; life cycles of plants; seasons

[Amron]

Perfect idea book for apartment gardening. Swedish pub.

[Rachel]

I loved this cute non-fiction children's book. It is charming and inspires me to try gardening. Out of print - bought through half.com.

[Sally]

635 BJO

Sweetly illustrated book about windowsill gardening, with doable projects, simple explanations of basic plant biology, and helpful "green thumb" tips throughout.

[Ginger]

I've been reading and re-reading children's books lately. I'd forgotten this old friend. It's a delightful book that anyone who has anything to do with children should read.

[Andrew]

We're into growing things this year. Like the Kids Garden! book, you liked looking at the pictures and telling me which experiments we should do.

[Nikki-Catrina Anderson]

Informational. This would be a fantastic book for any plant-loving student in my class. I think it could also be used in the mid-upper grades as the book we were reading for a science unit. It was interactive and written in child-friendly language. It shared lots of scientific information, but with the drawings and descriptions it was easy to understand.