Compost Awareness Week - Resources for Teachers & Librarians

International Compost Awareness Week is May 5-11, 2014

This is a partial list of books about composting, suitable for school age children. 

Compost Stew
by Mary McKenna Siddals

From Apple cores to Zinnia heads, here’s a recipe in rhyme for mixing up the perfect treat for Mother Earth: Just add to the pot and let it all rot into Compost Stew!

EIEIO: How Old MacDonald Got His Farm with a Little Help From a Hen
by Judy Sierra

In this humorous twist on the classic song, a Little Red Hen shows Old MacDonald how compost can transform his back yard into an urban farm.

Garbage Helps Our Garden Grow: A Compost Story
by Linda Glaser

Watch as one family makes compost for their garden and learn how to start your very own compost bin.

Composting: Nature’s Recyclers (Amazing Science)
by Robin Koontz

Learn what composting is, what goes into compost, and why composting is beneficial.

Caillou: The Magic of Compost: Ecology Club
by Sarah Margaret Johanson

Grandma shows Caillou a great magic trick: turning scraps of leftovers, grass clippings, and apple cores into plant food.

The Little Composter (Teenie Greenies)
by Jan Gerardi

Even toddlers can experience the fun of building a compost heap as they lift the flaps in this board book introduction to composting.

A Green Kid’s Guide to Composting (A Green Kid’s Guide to Gardening!)
by Richard Lay

Learn how to build a compost bin, what to put in it, and how to use the finished compost to fertilize a garden - all without harmful chemicals!

Compost Basics (Science Builders)
by Mari Schuh

Simple text and full-color photos provide a brief introduction to compost for early readers.

Secrets of the Garden: Food Chains and the Food Web in Our Backyard
by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

From preparing the soil with compost to harvesting a bounty of vegetables, kids will eat up this delicious journey through one family’s backyard garden.

What’s Sprouting in My Trash?: A Book about Composting (Earth Matters)
by Esther Porter

Simple text and oversize color photos provide a visual introduction to composting.

Rotten Pumpkin: A Rotten Tale in 15 Voices
by David M. Schwartz

Grossly compelling, the amazing transformation of Jack from grinning pumpkin to mold-mottled wreckage to hopeful green shoot tells the story of decomposition.

Compost!
by Linda Glaser

Aimed at the very young child, this picture book describes what composting is, what it does, and how to go about it.

How Groundhog’s Garden Grew
by Lynne Cherry

Squirrel teaches Little Groundhog how to plant and tend a vegetable garden; an author’s note elaborates upon the importance of compost to enrich the soil.