Community Read 2018

book propped up against growing seedlings in test tubes

Celebrating Women in Horticulture

In 2018 we encouraged everyone to explore the science of plants—the reason that gardens and natural lands invite, delight, nourish, and comfort us all—and the women that push our knowledge of the richness of plant life to new limits.

Lab Girl

We were thrilled to announce national bestseller Lab Girl by Hope Jahren as our 2018 Community Read book.

This fascinating, well-written memoir engaged and invited readers along on Jahren’s journey to become (and prosper as) a scientist. Her personal frankness in meeting challenges is inspirational, and she delivers the message with her own spirited voice and personality.

A geobiologist, Jahren has spent her life studying trees, flowers, seeds, and soil. Lab Girl is her revelatory treatise on plant life—but it is also a celebration of the lifelong curiosity, humility, and passion that drive every scientist. Warm, luminous, compulsively readable, Lab Girl vividly demonstrates the mountains that we can move when love and work come together.

Women in Science

We also chose Women in Science as the 2018 Community Read book for middle grade readers. Written and illustrated by Rachel Ignotofsky, this charmingly illustrated and educational book highlights the contributions of fifty notable women to the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) from the ancient to the modern world.

The Tree Lady

Our youngest readers were delighted by The Tree Lady, written by H. Joseph Hopkins and illustrated by Jill McElmurry. This is the story of horticulturist Katherine Olivia Sessions, who brought trees to San Diego and created what eventually became Balboa Park.

Resources

Lab Girl

Members, sign in and access this title as an ebook from our library

Lab Girl Discussion Questions

Women in Science

Activities

The Tree Lady

Activities
Desert Adaptations