Sunflower Houses: A Book for Children and Their Grown-Ups (Inspiration from the Garden)

I am in love with Sharon Lovejoy's books. I highly recommend them all.These are a collection of pretend-play ideas, outdoor discoveries, woodsy crafts, old fashioned games, and even some recipes that all help us meditate upon the forgotten luxury of simple living.Many of the activities guide you through the types of outdoor play you may have long forgotten since becoming a curmudgeonly old adult. Lovejoy makes fairies come alive again and mudpies seem like culinary masterpieces.There are various suggestions about how to create a cozy, child-friendly oasis within your home - stashing dress up clothes in a large trunk, keeping a large basket full of books in every room, bringing nature indoors.The illustrations throughout these books are so charming - watercolor sketches reminiscent of Beatrix Potter, which is perfectly suited to the content of the books.Visit my parenting blog for more great book recommendations similar to this one. [...]

Sharon Lovejoy's "Roots, Shoots, Buckets and Boots" has the a lot of the ideas that are in "Sunflower Houses". It's almost as if she wrote "Sunflower Houses" first, thought of better ways to illustrate and do the gardening plans, and then wrote "Roots, Shoots..." (I didn't check the publishing dates - so maybe this is true?)I bought both of these books through Amazon, and got "Roots..." first. It's a better book, with amazing illustrations. I thought "Sunflower Houses" would be just as good but when it came I was disappointed. It is really a repeat of much of the same stuff with less illustrations, and actually a lot less ideas. Illustrations are still really nice, and if you don't have the other book, you will like this one.(...)

Hollyhock skirts and green bean teepees. What more do you need to know? This is an eight year old's magic book, and a window back into that world for her mother.

My children and I have greatly enjoyed reading this together. All of my children appreciate the illustrations.

Great ideas of gardening with kids and for the kid in all of us!

Have purchased many copies of this book for the younger children in our family and they all adore the book and the activities.

I love this book

Wonderful book to encourage parents to get outside and in the dirt with kids.