Below you will find book guides and interactive activities organized around 10 garden and ecology-related themes. Links to read alouds are available for most of the books as well. Each guide includes vocabulary lists, comprehension questions, activities and games for each book and are geared toward youth from pre-k to 3rd grade. We encourage parents and caregivers to draw on these resources for use at home and for educators to use at school.
If you have questions or feedback on the Backpack Literacy Curriculum, please contact Carly Pierson at carlypierson@email.arizona.edu.
First, here are instructions on how to assemble garden literacy backpacks and instructions for how to print and use activity cards. Please click on links to download these resources.
Garden Theme 1: School and Community Gardens
Book Guides
- Farmer Will Allen and the Growing Table (by: Jacqueline Briggs Martin, ISBN: 978-0983661580)
- It's Our Garden (by: George Ancona, ISBN: 978-0763676919)
- Look Where We Live! (by: Scot Ritchie, ISBN: 978-1771381024)
- Our School Garden (by: Rick Swann & Christy Hale, ISBN: 978-0983661504)
- Plant a Little Seed (by: Bonnie Christensen, ISBN: 978-1596435506)
- Sylvia's Spinach (by: Katherine Pryor & Anna Raff, ISBN: 978-0983661542)
- The Patchwork Garden (by: Diane de Anda & Oksana Kemarskaya, ISBN: 978-1558857636)
- Zora's Zucchini (by: Katherine Pryor & Anna Raff, ISBN: 978-0983661573)
Activities
- Vegetable Game (instructions, veg card sheet 1 & veg card sheet 2)
Garden Theme 2: Seeds
Book Guides:
- A Seed is Sleepy (by: Dianna Aston & Sylvia Long, ISBN: 978-1452131474)
- Corn is Maize (by: Aliki, ISBN: 978-1442005228)
- From Seed to Plant (by: Gail Gibbons, ISBN: 978-0823410255)
- If You Hold a Seed (by: Elly MacKay, ISBN: 978-0762447213)
- If You Plant a Seed (by: Kadir Nelson, ISBN: 978-0062298898)
- So Happy! (by: Kevin Henkes, ISBN: 978-0060564834)
- The Flower - An Ecology Story Book (by: Chris Baines & Penny Ives, ISBN: 978-0940793538)
- The Life and Times of Corn (by: Charles Micucci, ISBN: 978-0618507511)
- Plant the Tiny Seed (by: Christie Matheson)
Activities
- Seed Dispersal Game (chart, seed dispersal cards)
- Prickly Pear Life Cycle Game (game board/instructions & cards)
- Palo Verde Pollination Game (game board/instructions, cards, Palo Verde flower anatomy sheet)
Garden Theme 3: Pollinators
Book Guides:
- A Butterfly is Patient (by: Dianna Aston & Sylvia Long, ISBN: 978-1452141244)
- Bats! (by Nicole Iorio, ISBN: 978-0060576387)
- How to Raise Monarch Butterflies (by: Carol Pasternak, ISBN: 978-1770850026)
- Pollinators of the Sonoran Desert (by: Nina Chambers, Yajaira Gray & Stephen Buchmann)
- The Bumblebee Queen (by: April Pulley Sayre & Patricia J. Wynne, ISBN: 978-1570913631)
- Waiting for Wings (by: Lois Ehlert, ISBN: 978-0152026080)
Activities
- Bumblebee Queen/Monarch Life Cycle Game (instructions/game board & butterfly life cycle cards)
Garden Theme 4: Desert Animals
Book Guides:
- Desert Night Desert Day (by: Anthony Fredericks & Kenneth Spengler, ISBN: 978-1933855707)
- Dig Wait Listen (by: April Sayre & Barbara Bash, ISBN: 978-0688166144)
- Don't Call Me Pig (by: Conrad Storad & Beth Neely, ISBN: 978-1891795015)
- Horned Toad Canyon (by: Joyce Gibson Roach & Charles Shaw, ISBN: 978-1931721011)
- Listen to the Desert (by: Gregory Mayers, ISBN: 978-0879465339)
- The Sunhat (by: Jennifer Ward & Stephanie Roth Sisson, ISBN: 978-1933855783)
- Desert Voices (by: Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnall, ISBN: 978-0689716911)
- Guess Who's in the Desert (by: Charle Prorfiri)
Activities
- Desert Voices Verb Game (instructions, verb cards and additional verb cards); for use with Desert Cards below under the Food Chain Game
- Desert Night Desert Day Rhyming Match Game (instructions & cards)
Garden Theme 5: Desert Ecology
Book Guides:
-
Document
(by: Cathryn Sill, ISBN: 978-1561456369)
-
Document
(by: Anthony D. Fredericks & Jennifer Dirubbio, ISBN: 978-1584690528)
- Here is the Southwestern Desert (by: Madeleine Dunphy & Anne Coe, ISBN: 978-0977379569
- The Seed and the Giant Saguaro (by: Jennifer Ward & Mike Rangner, ISBN: 978-0873588454)
-
Document
(by: Tish Rabe, ISBN: 978-0375858680)
Activities
- Food Chain Game (energy flow cards- food chain, energy flow cards-food web, card sheet 1, card sheet 2, card sheet 3, card sheet 4, card sheet 5 & card sheet 6)
- Saguaro Life Cycle Game (preposition cards, saguaro life cycle cards, verb cards)
- Why Oh Why are Deserts Dry? Rhyming Game (cards)
Garden Theme 6: Fables, Folktales, and Myths
Book Guides:
- Bedtime in the Southwest (by: Mona Hodgson & Renee Graef, ISBN: 978-0873588713)
- Cactus Soup (by: Eric A. Kimmel & Phil Huling, ISBN: 978-0761458326)
- The First Tortilla (by: Rudolfo Anaya, ISBN: 978-0826342157)
- The Tale of Rabbit and Coyote (by: Tony Johnston & Tomie de Paola, ISBN: 978-0698116306)
- The Tortoise and the Hare
- The Tortoise and the Jackrabbit (by: Susan Lowell, ISBN: 978-0873585866)
- Tops and Bottoms (by: Janet Stevens, ISBN: 978-0152928513)
Activities:
- Vegetable Game (instructions, card sheet 1, card sheet 2)
- Character Compare and Contrast Game (instructions)
- Tortoise and Jackrabbit Sequence Game (instructions & sequence cards)
- Jade's Character Traits and Actions Matching Game (character trait cards & character action cards)
Garden Theme 7: Harvest Time
Book Guides
- Before We Eat (by: Pat Brisson & Mary Azarian, ISBN: 978-0873588713)
- Delicious Hullabaloo (by: Pat Mora & Francisco X. Mora, ISBN: 978-1430108375)
- Grow It Cook It (by: DK Publishing, ISBN: 978-0756633677)
- Let's Eat (by: Beatrice Hollyer, ISBN: 978-0805073225)
- My Nana's Remedies (by: Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford & Edna San Miguel, ISBN: 978-1886679191)
- My Tata's Remedies (by: Roni Capin Rivera-Ashford & Antonio Castro, ISBN: 978-1935955894)
- Strega Nona's Harvest (by: Tomie de Paola, ISBN: 978-0142423387)
- Talia and the Rude Vegetables (by: Linda Elovitz Marshall & Francesca Assitelli, ISBN: 978-0761352181)
- The Pancake Tree (by: Trenton Payne & Jok Gervasio, ISBN: 978-1470198893)
- Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico! (by: Pat Mora & Rafael Lopez, ISBN: 978-1600608926)
Activities
- Strega Nona Puppets (sheet 1 & sheet 2)
- Let's Eat Reference: My Plate
- Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Qué Rico! Reference: Map of Americas
- Delicious Hullabaloo Noun and Verb Game (instructions/chart & noun and verb cards)
- Before We Eat Rhyming Game (instructions/rhyming cards)
- Comparing and Contrasting my Nana's and my Tata's
Garden Theme 8: Math and Language Foundations
Book Guides
- C is for Coyote (by: Andrea Helman, ISBN: 978-1630763008)
- Desert Babies A-Z (by: Bill Broyles, ISBN: 978-1887896696)
- Desert Digits
- Edible Colors (by: Jennifer Vogel Bass, ISBN: 978-1626722842)
- G is for Grand Canyon (by: Barbara Gowan & Katherine Larson, ISBN: 978-1585360680)
- Gathering the Sun (by: Alma Ada & Simon Silva, ISBN: 978-0688170677)
- Green is a Chile Pepper (by: Roseanne Greenfield Thong & John Parra, ISBN: 978-1452156453)
- I Howl, I Growl (by: Marcia Vaughan & Polly Powell, ISBN: 978-0873588355)
- Little Arizona (by: Barbara Gowan & Helle Urban, ISBN: 978-1585362080)
- Round is a Tortilla (by: Roseanne Thong & John Parra, ISBN: 978-1452145686)
- Wild Backyard (by: Katie Riggs & Fiammetta Dogi, ISBN: 978-1568462875)
Activities
- Color Sorting Card Game (instructions, color cards 1, color cards 2 & color cards 3)
- Shape Sort Game (instructions & cards)
- Syllable Sorter Game (instructions/chart, cards & word spinner)
- Dice Multiplication Game (instructions, 4 dice needed)
- Desert Digits and G is for Grand Canyon Reference: Arizona Map
Garden Theme 9: People's Relationship with Nature
Book Guides
- Alejandro's Gift (by: Richard E. Albert & Sylvia Long, ISBN: 978-0811813426)
- El Lorax (by: Dr. Seuss, ISBN: 978-0394823379)
- Everybody Needs a Rock (by: Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnall, ISBN: 978-0689710513)
- The Desert is My Mother (by: Pat Mora & Daniel Lechon, ISBN: 978-1558851580)
- The Desert is Theirs (by: Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnall, ISBN: 978-0689711053)
- The Table Where Rich People Sit (by: Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnall, ISBN: 978-0689820083)
- The Way to Start the Day (by: Byrd Baylor & Peter Parnall, ISBN: 978-0689710544)
- This House is Made of Mud (by: Ken Buchanan & Libba Tray, ISBN: 978-0873585804)
Activities
- Comparative, Adjective & Superlative Game (worksheet)
- Yoga Poses sheet
Garden Theme 10: Science
Book Guides
- Buried Sunlight (by: Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm, ISBN: 978-0545577854)
- Dirt (by: Natalie Rosinsky & Sheree Boyd, ISBN: 978-1404803312)
- Exploring Ecosystems with Max Axiom (by: Agnieszka Biskup & Tod Smith, ISBN: 978-0736878944)
- Living Sunlight (by: Molly Bang & Penny Chisholm, ISBN: 978-0545044226)
- Who Pooped in the Sonoran Desert? (by: Gary Robson & Robert Rath, ISBN: 978-1560373490)
Activities
- Producers, Consumers, and Decomposers Board Game (game board, card sheet 1 & card sheet 2)
- Energy Flow Game (food web cards, extra energy flow cards)
The Backpack Literacy Program is kindly supported by the Stocker Foundation.