Lynne has produced 13 Young Voices for the Planet short films feature that youth success stories: California kids helping to get a ban on plastic bags Florida students saving their school $53,000 in energy costs An 11-year old German boy planting a million trees. Lynne is the founder and director emeritus of the non-profit Young Voices for the Planet, a 501 (c)(3) tax exempt organization dedicated to helping the voices of environmentally-concerned young people be heard. Her best-selling books such as The Great Kapok Tree and A River Ran Wild teach children to respect the earth. Lynne Cherry is the author and/or illustrator of over thirty award-winning books for children. You can request a teaching guide for How Groundhog’s Garden Grew by sending a sase to Blue Sky Press, Scholastic, 555 Broadway, New York, NY 10012

*Dig up part of the lawn and prepare a garden for planting in the spring. *Start a compost pile outside and watch and study the decomposition of vegetable matter into earth. *Plant sunflower seeds in cups on the windowsill. *Collect seeds from inside peppers, cantaloupe, pumpkins and beans and dry them in order to preserve them for the following spring. *After reading How Groundhog’s Garden Grew, *Go outside and collect leaves, draw them and think about their form and function and how they are similar or different from rain forest leaves. *Think about how the rain forest is similar and how it is different from the forest, woodlot, lawn or playground around your school.

Then cut out the characters so each child can leap, crawl, scurry or swim across the stage when their character is mentioned. You can make big characters for the play by recycling cardboard boxes and painting the propagule, the little mangrove tree, the dolphins, the snail, the crabs, the manatees and all the other amazing animals from the book. Draw the characters on big pieces of paper or cardboard. *Read The Sea, the Storm and the Magnrove Tangle and then put on a play of the book. There are Many Fun and Educational Activities You Can Do Using Lynne Cherry’s Books or to prepare for her visit to your school or conference.

The great kapok tree by lynne cherry