A Trip to the Library
Stop and Read the Flowers this Holiday Season
By Jennifer Tudor


Plant life is everywhere in Florida, even during winter and especially in the library! The holidays showcase many plants that are familiar to all of us: poinsettia, mistletoe, holly, and many more. Read about these plants in books and then study them in your backyard or local park.

One of the best Thanksgiving foods is pumpkin pie. Explore a different side to this food by reading this creative picture book: Dr. Pompo's Nose, by Saxton Freymann (Arthur A. Levine Books, c2000). This author uses photographs of pumpkins and other vegetables as the main characters for this story.

A well-known symbol of the Christmas season is the Poinsettia. The Legend of the Poinsetti, by Tomi DePaola (Putnam, 1994), portrays the Mexican folktale that tells story of how the poinsettia came into being. Read this story and find out more about this miraculous plant.

The latke, or potato pancake, is an important part of the Hanukkah celebration. Two Old Potatoes and Me, by John Coy (Alfred A. Knopf, c.2003), tells the story of how a young girl finds and grows a potato with the help of her father. Maybe you could do this, too! If you can grow your own potatoes, you can make your own latkes! YUM!

Kwanzaa is the celebration of the harvest in Africa. So, many good foods are included in this holiday: plantains, okra, cassava, sweet corn, and sweet potato. Feast for 10, by Cathryn Falwell (Clarion Books, 1993), is a counting book that portrays a family getting ready for a feast. They share the work to make the feast and the work to clean up after, with some sharing and together time in-between. Besides learning about numbers, the book reinforces the ideas of cooperation and sharing, which is what Kwanzaa is all about.

When your holiday schedule gets too hectic, remember to take some time to stop and read about the flowers! Just check out your local public library. Visit the Pinellas Public Library Cooperative Website at www.pplc.us.

Jennifer Tudor is a Youth Services Librarian at the Clearwater Public Library System.