Love The Pie That Molly Grew? Readers share 89 books like The Pie That Molly Grew...

By Sue Heavenrich, Chamisa Kellogg (illustrator),

Here are 89 books that The Pie That Molly Grew fans have personally recommended if you like The Pie That Molly Grew. Shepherd is a community of 12,000+ authors and super readers sharing their favorite books with the world.

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Book cover of Anywhere Farm

Roxanne Troup Author Of My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me

From my list on farm-to-table for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a farming community where everyone understood where our food comes from; we were all either farmers or related to farmers. I’ve since discovered that is not the case everywhere. Many kids honestly believe our food comes from grocery stores. Those that have been told our food is grown, are still unfamiliar with the extent of our reliance on agriculture—not just for food, but clothing; building and cleaning supplies; sports equipment; fuel; and so much more! They also don’t understand the amount of time and hard work (even technology) required to grow, harvest, and process the plants used to create their favorite foods. Hopefully these books—mine included—will help. 

Roxanne's book list on farm-to-table for kids

Roxanne Troup Why did Roxanne love this book?

Not really a farm-to-table book, but I love the inspirational message of this story—that anyone can grow a plant, anywhere that they are.

“For an anywhere farm, here's all that you need: soil and sunshine, some water, a seed.” The author goes on to inspire readers (in rollicking rhyme) to plant their “farms” in any type container they can find—an empty lot, a box or bucket, a shoe, or even a horn.

Again, not exactly accurate, but a wonderful way to spark creative discussions about growing a garden to make our world a greener and more beautiful place. For, “with soil and sunshine and water and care, one day all our anywhere farms anywhere might turn into an everywhere farm everywhere.” 

By Phyllis Root, G. Brian Karas (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Anywhere Farm as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 2, 3, 4, and 5.

What is this book about?

Anywhere can be a farm - all it takes is one small seed, and someone to plant it.

In this celebration of green fingers and the thrill of nurturing new life Phyllis Root delivers a read-aloud rhyming mantra for planting your very own farm, while G. Brian Karas's joyful city illustrations sprout from every page. You might think a farm means fields, tractors and a barnyard full of animals. But you can plant a farm anywhere you like! A box or a bucket, a boot or a pan - almost anything can be turned into a home for growing things.…


Book cover of The Farm That Feeds Us: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm

Roxanne Troup Author Of My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me

From my list on farm-to-table for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a farming community where everyone understood where our food comes from; we were all either farmers or related to farmers. I’ve since discovered that is not the case everywhere. Many kids honestly believe our food comes from grocery stores. Those that have been told our food is grown, are still unfamiliar with the extent of our reliance on agriculture—not just for food, but clothing; building and cleaning supplies; sports equipment; fuel; and so much more! They also don’t understand the amount of time and hard work (even technology) required to grow, harvest, and process the plants used to create their favorite foods. Hopefully these books—mine included—will help. 

Roxanne's book list on farm-to-table for kids

Roxanne Troup Why did Roxanne love this book?

Written for slightly older readers, I love the browsable format of this nonfiction title. It makes the information accessible to lots of different reading and interest levels.

Want to know what machines modern farmers use? Check out the “springtime chapter” Farm Machinery. Want to know about the animals you saw at the county fair? Check out the “summertime chapter” Heading to the County Fair. Interested in orchard farming? Read each season’s chapter dedicated to orchard farming to learn how your favorite fruits are grown throughout the year.

Spot illustrations help break up the text and give readers, who may not be familiar with agricultural terms or phrases, the context they need to understand the information.

By Nancy Castaldo, Ginnie Hsu (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Farm That Feeds Us as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 7, 8, 9, and 10.

What is this book about?

Where does our food come from? What role do farms play? What's it like to be a farmer? In this charmingly illustrated book, follow a farm throughout the year to discover how the farmer grows fresh and tasty food for us to eat in a sustainable and natural way.

Explore the workings of a small-scale, organic family farm and experience the rhythm of farm life. In the spring, visit the chicken coop, till the fields and tour the farm machinery. When summer comes, plant corn, meet the pollinators and head to the county fair. In the fall, make pies and…


Book cover of I Love Strawberries!

Roxanne Troup Author Of My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me

From my list on farm-to-table for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a farming community where everyone understood where our food comes from; we were all either farmers or related to farmers. I’ve since discovered that is not the case everywhere. Many kids honestly believe our food comes from grocery stores. Those that have been told our food is grown, are still unfamiliar with the extent of our reliance on agriculture—not just for food, but clothing; building and cleaning supplies; sports equipment; fuel; and so much more! They also don’t understand the amount of time and hard work (even technology) required to grow, harvest, and process the plants used to create their favorite foods. Hopefully these books—mine included—will help. 

Roxanne's book list on farm-to-table for kids

Roxanne Troup Why did Roxanne love this book?

A hands-on, child’s-eye-view of what it takes to grow your own food in which the main character, a young girl, works to prove to her parents that she is ready for the responsibility and hard work of gardening.

The author uses a combination of prose and diary entries to tell this story of perseverance, entrepreneurship, and agriculture—all big words described in a very child-friendly way. But it’s the illustrations that sell this book. I love the bright, scrapbook style. They add tons of humor and kid appeal while perfectly complimenting the writing.

I imagine kiddos spending hours pouring over the art's details, and using the illustrations as inspiration to create their own writing notebooks.

By Shannon Anderson, Jaclyn Sinquett (illustrator), Emma D Dryden (editor)

Why should I read it?

1 author picked I Love Strawberries! as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

Jolie LOVES strawberries - and she’s on an unstoppable (and hilarious) mission to grow her own food from seedling to table in this colorful introduction to the joy of growing the popular perennial.

Through Jolie’s comical scrapbook-style journal entries, young readers will learn how she convinces the “old people” (aka her parents) to let her grow her own strawberries. Growing strawberries is a lot of work and responsibility, but Jolie is ready with the help of her faithful rabbit Munchy! Together they find out just how delicious, rewarding, and sometimes complicated it can be to grow your own food.

Creating…


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Book cover of The City Sings Green & Other Poems About Welcoming Wildlife

The City Sings Green & Other Poems About Welcoming Wildlife by Erica Silverman,

A unique and artful blend of poetry, science, and activism, this picture book shows how city dwellers can intervene so that nature can work her magic.

In Oslo, Norway: citizens create a honeybee highway that stretches from one side of the city to the other, offering flowerpots, resting spots, bee…

Book cover of Time for Cranberries

Roxanne Troup Author Of My Grandpa, My Tree, and Me

From my list on farm-to-table for kids.

Why am I passionate about this?

I grew up in a farming community where everyone understood where our food comes from; we were all either farmers or related to farmers. I’ve since discovered that is not the case everywhere. Many kids honestly believe our food comes from grocery stores. Those that have been told our food is grown, are still unfamiliar with the extent of our reliance on agriculture—not just for food, but clothing; building and cleaning supplies; sports equipment; fuel; and so much more! They also don’t understand the amount of time and hard work (even technology) required to grow, harvest, and process the plants used to create their favorite foods. Hopefully these books—mine included—will help. 

Roxanne's book list on farm-to-table for kids

Roxanne Troup Why did Roxanne love this book?

I first discovered Time for Cranberries when looking for comparative titles for my own book.

But where mine follows the growth and harvest cycle of pecans, Lisl’s follows the harvest process for cranberries—from field to Thanksgiving table (though like my book, hers is not a holiday title). Like me, Lisl, wrote her story from personal experience, and includes all the sights and sounds of the cranberry harvest.

I love that she includes the child narrator in the process in a way that is both authentic and safe, and uses a refrain to tie the narrative together—boy, I didn’t realize just how comparative our stories were until just this moment! Maybe, someday the two of us can meet in person.

By Lisl H Detlefsen, Jed Henry (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Time for Cranberries as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.

What is this book about?

From the cranberry bog to the Thanksgiving table, join Sam and his family as they harvest a classic American fruit.

When the vines hang heavy with berries that the autumn winds have turned deep red, it's time for cranberries, and Sam is finally old enough to help with the harvest! This charming, lyrical picture book follows Sam and his family as they raise the water in the bog, pick the cranberries, and gather the fruit for processing. It's a story of modern family farming in action, showing readers where their food comes from but mostly delighting them along the way.


Book cover of Plant-Driven Design: Creating Gardens That Honor Plants, Place, and Spirit

John Greenlee Author Of The American Meadow Garden: Creating a Natural Alternative to the Traditional Lawn

From my list on creating successful meadow and grass garden ecology.

Why am I passionate about this?

As an expert in grass ecology and champion of sustainable design, John Greenlee has created meadows not only in the United States, but throughout the world for over 30 years. Some of his most notable gardens include the Getty Museum, the Norton Simon Museum in Los Angeles, and the savannas at Walt Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Florida. In addition to his consulting and design work for commercial and residential clients, John Greenlee enjoys sharing his knowledge by giving several presentations and lectures throughout the year on the use of natural lawns, native grasses, and meadow restoration.

John's book list on creating successful meadow and grass garden ecology

John Greenlee Why did John love this book?

This book is perhaps the most important garden book of the last twenty years and one of my favorites.

The main premise is that plants matter and that the key to successful gardening and garden design is to know your plants and I could not agree more! I love the gorgeous photography and all the information by two of America's greatest horticulturalists.

By Scott Ogden, Lauren Springer Ogden,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Plant-Driven Design as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

For too long, garden design has given pride of place to architecture, artifice, and arbitrary principles. The results? Soulless landscapes where plants play subordinate roles.

With passion and eloquence, Scott Ogden and Lauren Springer Ogden argue that only when plants are given the respect they deserve does a garden become emotionally resonant. Plant-Driven Design shows designers how to work more confidently with plants, and gives gardeners more confidence to design. The Ogdens boldly challenge design orthodoxy and current trends by examining how to marry plantsmanship and design without sacrificing one to the other.

Supported by extensive lists of plants adapted…


Book cover of The Beautiful Edible Garden: Design a Stylish Outdoor Space Using Vegetables, Fruits, and Herbs

Chantal Aida Gordon and Ryan Benoit Author Of How to Window Box: Small-Space Plants to Grow Indoors or Out

From my list on designing your dream garden.

Why are we passionate about this?

We’re Chantal Gordon and Ryan Benoit — the cofounders of gardening/design/DIY blog The Horticult. Our site shows you how to create handsome yet effective habitats for your plants. That includes a collection of mounted staghorn ferns under our citrus trees, a vertical garden for your herbs, and a sleek bog for carnivorous pitcher plants. One of our most popular DIYs is how to build an outdoor theater behind your rosemary hedge. We show people how to create outdoor spaces they can deeply enjoy — whether it’s a patio, balcony, or yard. A key to welcoming someone is good design. The more you like hanging out outside, the better care you’ll take of your plants.

Chantal and Ryan's book list on designing your dream garden

Chantal Aida Gordon and Ryan Benoit Why did Chantal and Ryan love this book?

As primarily ornamental gardeners, we’ve fallen back on the old excuse about tomato plants being ugly as the reason why we don’t do edible gardening. It’s a lazy excuse! The Beautiful Edible Garden shows that its titular premise is so not an oxymoron. And it hits the two things we look for most in a garden design book, which are: (1) hyperspecific plant recommendations and (2) solid design principles we can learn from and put into action. Through lucid, inviting instructions and scrumptious photos, The Beautiful Edible Garden offers gold like how to select “anchor plants” to establish structure in a landscape, blueberries and culinary sweet bay being top picks. And the transformational effect of planting a “focal point” plant — which has us hankering to bring in a persimmon tree. 

By Leslie Bennett, Stefani Bittner,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Beautiful Edible Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Learn how to artfully incorporate organic vegetables, fruits, and herbs into an attractive garden design with this stylish, beautifully photographed guide.

We’ve all seen the vegetable garden overflowing with corn, tomatoes, and zucchini that looks good for a short time, but then quickly turns straggly and unattractive (usually right before friends show up for a backyard barbecue). If you want to grow food but you don’t want your yard to look like a farm, what can you do? The Beautiful Edible Garden shares how to not only grow organic fruits and vegetables, but also make your garden a place of…


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Book cover of Virginia Wouldn't Slow Down!: The Unstoppable Dr. Apgar and Her Life-Saving Invention

Virginia Wouldn't Slow Down! by Carrie A. Pearson,

A delightful and distinctive picture book biography about Dr. Virginia Apgar, who invented the standard, eponymous test for evaluating newborn health used worldwide thousands of times every day.

You might know about the Apgar Score. But do you know the brilliant, pioneering woman who invented it? Born at the turn…

Book cover of The Road to Le Tholonet: A French Garden Journey

Amelia Dalton Author Of Pages from My Passport

From my list on the lives of those who pushed the boundaries.

Why am I passionate about this?

I ‘fell’ into being at sea by chance, through my father’s insistence I join him on a Scottish fishing boat for a week. I discovered I adored exploring unknown islands and lonely beaches, discovering wildlife and resilient small communities. In the 1990’s a female working amongst fishermen and commercial shipping was unknown, it was a wholly male, chauvinistic world. Using these skills I found a job being paid to explore – a dream job, pioneering but frequently lonely and dangerous. It resulted in my expanding the range and world of small expedition ships into areas with no infrastructure, unexplored and uncharted, lonely, empty coasts from the Arctic to Singapore. 

Amelia's book list on the lives of those who pushed the boundaries

Amelia Dalton Why did Amelia love this book?

I have loved travelling with Monty Don on this gentle, thoughtful, and evocative book is a joy. 

In addition to his huge knowledge of plants, he is an informed historian, and writes beautifully. The book is full of surprises as he takes one meandering through the byways of France sharing his passion for plants, places, and interest in people which all come shining through.

By Monty Don,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Road to Le Tholonet as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

This is not a book about French Gardens. It is the story of a man travelling round France visiting a few selected French gardens on the way.

Owners, intrigues, affairs, marriages, feuds, thwarted ambitions and desires, the largely unnamed ordinary gardeners, wars, plots and natural disasters run through every garden older than a generation or two and fill every corner of the grander historical ones. Families marry. Gardeners are poached. Political allegiances forged and shattered. The human trail crosses from garden to garden.

They sit in their surrounding landscape, not as isolated islands but attached umbilically to it, sharing the…


Book cover of The Urban Garden: How One Community Turned Idle Land into a Garden City and How You Can, Too

Jane S. Smith Author Of The Garden of Invention: Luther Burbank and the Business of Breeding Plants

From my list on changing how you think about plants and gardens.

Why am I passionate about this?

All my writing starts with the question, How did we get here? As the granddaughter of a grocer and the daughter of a food editor, I grew up wondering about the quest for new and better foods—especially when other people began saying “new” and “better” were contradictions. Which is better, native or imported? Heirloom or hybrid? Our roses today are patented, and our food supplies are dominated by multi-national seed companies, but not very long ago, the new sciences of evolution and genetics promised an end to scarcity and monotony. If we explore the sources of our gardens, we can understand our world. That‘s what I tried to do in The Garden of Invention, and that’s why I recommend these books.  

Jane's book list on changing how you think about plants and gardens

Jane S. Smith Why did Jane love this book?

This gorgeous and touching book shows the many ways community gardens are more than a name—they build community. In a time when it’s so easy to feel helpless, here are ordinary people taking small steps with a big impact. I particularly loved the use of community garden time as alternative sentencing for teen offenders, and how the kids turned around and used their skills to help homebound seniors. 

By Jeremy N. Smith,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Urban Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Fifteen people plus a class of first graders tell how local food, farms, and gardens changed their lives and their community . . . and how they can change yours, too.
Urban Farming Handbook includes:
Fifteen first-person stories of personal and civic transformation from a range of individuals, including farmers and community garden members, a low-income senior and a troubled teen, a foodie, a food bank officer, and many more
Seven in-depth "How It Works" sections on student farms, community gardens, community-supported agriculture (CSA), community education, farm work therapy, community outreach, and more
Detailed information on dozens of additional resources…


Book cover of Folk Tales from the Garden

Allison Galbraith Author Of Dancing with Trees: Eco-Tales from the British Isles

From my list on environmental storytelling for folklore freaks.

Why am I passionate about this?

As a child, I spent summers looking for adders on the Common and winters walking through snowstorms pretending to be a Hobbit in Tolkien's Middle Earth. My travels and studies taught me the importance of respecting different cultures and our planet. Glasgow Libraries gave me my first storytelling work in 1992, and I have a Master's degree in Scottish Folklore. I live in Scotland, sharing stories through writing and storytelling. Having collected hundreds of traditional folktales about our ancestors' wisdom and folly, I co-authored my first book, Dancing With Trees, Eco-Tales from the British Isles, to reflect our need to understand nature's wisdom and help us live sustainably on Earth.

Allison's book list on environmental storytelling for folklore freaks

Allison Galbraith Why did Allison love this book?

This is more than a collection of garden folktales.

Donald Smith takes us on a storytelling odyssey through each month of the year. Reflecting on his garden in Edinburgh, Scotland, during the global pandemic 2020, he presents stories that speak of seasonal rhythms and nature connection.

Smith peppers his unfurling garden journey with snippets of history and musings on nature and storytellers past and present. He includes his unique retelling of classic folktales like Jack and The Magic Beans and fascinating and humorous autobiographical stories.

This book's confident narrative and beautiful artwork connect us to the botanical paradise and wildlife havens that are our glorious gardens.

By Donald Smith, Annalisa Salis (illustrator),

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Folk Tales from the Garden as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

The garden is an oasis, a pocket of nature in our busy modern lives, full of plants, animals, insects - and a fair bit of magic.

Folk Tales from the Garden follows the seasons through a year of stories, garden lore and legends. Explore the changing face of nature just outside your front door, from the tale of the Creator painting her birds and the merits of kissing an old toad, to pixies sleeping in the tulips, and an unusually large turnip.


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Book cover of From Cells to Ourselves: The Story of Evolution

From Cells to Ourselves by Gill Arbuthnott,

4.5 billion years ago, Earth was forming - but nothing could have survived there…

From Cells to Ourselves is the incredible story of how life on earth started and how it gradually evolved from the first simple cells to the abundance of life around us today. Walk with dinosaurs, analyse…

Book cover of Plotting the Stars 1: Moongarden

Maura Jortner Author Of 102 Days of Lying About Lauren

From my list on kids who make it through tough times.

Why am I passionate about this?

I went through major surgery when I was in eighth grade. The physical pain was bad, but what hurt more was the emotional side. When I returned to school, the friend groups had shifted, shutting me out because of my extended absence. I had to face that time in life alone. Perhaps that’s why I’m drawn to works about kids who have to face challenges on their own. When we go through hard times, our true selves come out. They have to; we have no one else. We can’t pretend. We can only try to make it. The books I like show characters that shine through their hardships.

Maura's book list on kids who make it through tough times

Maura Jortner Why did Maura love this book?

First off, this book was written by a good friend of mine and I got to read early, early drafts of it. But more importantly, Myra, the main character, is in a special school on the Moon for kids with magic. Only, she doesn’t have magic. She has to try to fake her way through it.

That is, until she develops the wrong kind of magic. When she discovers she’s a Boton, all is lost. She could be put in jail for having plant magic–or worse. Myra isn’t very good at making friends, but she learns through this tough situation how to trust other people.

By Michelle A. Barry,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Plotting the Stars 1 as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 10, 11, 12, and 13.

What is this book about?

"Moongarden blooms with heart and adventure. A stellar update of The Secret Garden, woven with a little science fiction, a lot of magic, a vibrant heroine, and a plucky robot sidekick to rival R2-D2." —Victoria Aveyard, New York Times bestselling author of Red Queen

The Secret Garden meets The City of Ember. Failed climate change policy, an intergalactic conspiracy, and the magical, unlikely heroine who could unearth it all. An explosive STEAM-inspired series starter perfect for young change makers.

Centuries ago, Earth’s plants turned deadly, and humanity took to space to cultivate new homes. Myra Hodger is in her first…


Book cover of Anywhere Farm
Book cover of The Farm That Feeds Us: A Year in the Life of an Organic Farm
Book cover of I Love Strawberries!

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Interested in gardens, pastries, and pumpkins?

Gardens 45 books
Pastries 22 books
Pumpkins 20 books