About Us

Bringing Books to Life for Children, One Garden At A Time

Mission Statement

To enrich the mind, body and spirit of the young and young at heart through exploration in a garden environment based on children’s literature.

Bookworm Gardens is a vibrant, playful children’s garden that enhances literature, the natural world, and the imagination. Located in Sheboygan, Wisconsin,the garden is adjacent to UW Sheboygan and is across from the UW Extention offices which house the Sheboygan County Master Gardeners. The 1.5 acre garden will offer the young and young at heart the opportunity for free, unstructured play in a beautiful and secure environment. Classes in horticulture, literature, art and cooking will be offered, as well as concerts, plays and special events.

Goals

  • To promote delight in the world around us
  • To provide a place for families to connect and reconnect in an environment that is naturally wireless
  • To encourage an understanding and enjoyment of plants and the role they play in our lives
  • To encourage reading and nurture the imagination in children and adults alike
  • To provide educational programming related to horticulture, art, music, environmental science and literature
  • To encourage and promote volunteerism in our community and schools

The Bookworm Gardens Concept:

The garden is based completely on children’s literature—over 70 different books are represented, selected by reading specialists, librarians, teachers, and kids.

  • Entrance to the garden is FREE. We hope children visit frequently!
  • Special elements of the garden include outdoor classrooms, a small amphitheatre [image - garden area], greenhouse and teaching kitchen [image - garden area]
  • Nooks and crannies for reading are plentiful, as are benches for resting and chatting

The garden is unique to southeastern Wisconsin, celebrating our diverse geographical region as well as our multicultural residents and local industries.

The garden is a grass roots community project, offering residents of all ages, incomes and races the opportunity for involvement. Building benches, stuffing envelopes, sponsoring fundraising presentations, creating works of art—these are just a few of the ways to get involved.

Activities and Education

Horticulture and the Environment

The gardens will include crazy and kooky plants as well as those near and dear to our hearts. Some of the gardens are filled with old favorites such as peonies and hollyhocks; others with miniature vegetables and giant fruits, tempting even the most timid gardener to poke a thumb in the dirt! Many of the gardens will be planted and tended by children, and any vegetables grown will be harvested and used in our very own outdoor kitchen.

Children will learn about typical Sheboygan County farm crops, prairie plants, native trees, and water ecology as they explore both our planted and natural areas. They might:

  • Watch a water skater skim across the surface of the pond
  • Discover a caterpillar chewing its way through a milkweed leaf
  • Rub the fuzzy leaves of a lamb’s ear on the nose of a friend
  • Compare a big red apple to a small yellow apple in the orchard
  • Find a bright red sugar maple leaf and wonder why it is so brilliantly colored
  • Dig for worms in the worm bin

Literature and Language

Reading nooks and crannies abound in the garden for intimate reading experiences as well as larger areas for reading aloud with friends and family. Our book list includes classics, both fiction and nonfiction, contemporary literature and poetry, and will grow over the course of time as new books and gardens are added. Children will have the opportunity to:

  • Pretend they are Laura Ingalls Wilder and write in a journal
  • Find the letter "A" next to the Alyssum and "B" next to the Begonia
  • Read aloud to Grandma and Grandpa
  • Learn to say “I love you” in sign language
  • Hide in Horton’s nest and read about Lazy Maisy
  • Listen to a 7th grade volunteer read “Winnie the Pooh”

Art Expression

Art is everywhere in the garden, and much of it will be created by children throughout Sheboygan County with the help of art teachers and volunteers. Visitors to the garden may:

  • Borrow an easel or clipboard from the storage bin and sketch the whooping cranes fluttering over the pond
  • Freeze! As still as possible and pretend to be posing for a great sculptor
  • Become the sculptor and make a figure out of clay
  • Design and build a scarecrow for the garden

Culture

A very important goal for Bookworm Gardens is to help our visitors learn about each other. Consequently, many of the books celebrate the ethnic diversity that is a cornerstone of our community. Each of our cultural areas will feature plant material, historical and architectural elements. Visitors may:

  • Rake a design in the Japanese sand garden
  • Plant tulip bulbs in the Dutch garden
  • Make salsa from the tomatoes, onions, and peppers grown in the Salsa garden
  • Test the soil in the George Washington Carver classroom
  • Follow the trail through the story cloth in the Hmong garden

Classes and Special Events

Classes will be offered for school groups on a regular basis. Educational curriculum is currently being developed for each of the garden areas by the Education Committee, a group of active and retired teachers in the area. Classes in horticulture, literature, art and cooking will all be available.

Special programs will also be held frequently. Concerts, puppet shows, plays…the sky (and our children’s imaginations) is the limit!