Secrets of the Garden by Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld

This gem of a book explains food chains and food webs that children can observe in their own backyard.  Though it is categorized as non-fiction, the story reads smoothly and is entertaining enough to lend itself well to reading aloud. 

From the book:  Alice's family plants a vegetable garden each spring, and this budding naturalist reports all she sees about how the plants grow, what insects come to eat the plants, and what birds and animals come to eat the insects. It's the food chain, right in her own backyard!

There is enough pop-out and side-bar type factual information that any reader eager to plan their own garden could pick up quite a few tips.  The adorable illustrations by Prisacilla Lamont are colorful as well as fantastically detailed; such a great reflection of Zoehfeld's text.

Entertaining and educational - a great combination in any book!