Homesteading Books for Adults Kids Tweens Teens

We are a family of bookworms so today I’m sharing the seasonal homesteading books we’ve been reading for adults, kids, tweens and teens. As we’re gearing up for spring gardening, beekeeping, foraging and chick season there are so many things to read and learn to inspire our homesteading and homeschooling adventures!

We have an extensive home library of books that we are always adding to. We also visit the local library every week. Library day is Big Sister’s favorite day of the week and she always comes homes with stacks of books to read, just like I did at her age!

There are so many books but so little time! I love to learn so the stack of books on my bedside table is always filled with a wide variety of books on various homesteading topics.

There are so many more wonderful homesteading books out there, these are ones that we are currently reading inspired by the Spring season approaching as we emerge from a long, cold winter.

Homesteading Books for Adults

Do-It-Yourself Garden Projects and Crafts: 60 Planters, Bird Houses, Lotion Bars, Garlands and More

My daughter actually found this book at the library when she was searching for some craft ideas this winter. I love gardening, crafting and a good DIY project so I just had to read it too!

I love this book so much I found a used copy online and bought one for us to keep in our home library since there are so many fun projects that we want to do.

This book is full of fun garden and outdoor themed ideas with clear instructions and pictures. Some of the projects we’re planning to do are making a native bee house, origami newspaper seed pots, wind spinners, custom seed packet for gifting our saved heirloom seeds, sun catcher wind chime, branch weaving, Shibori fabric, and so many more!

How to Speak Chicken: Why Your Chickens Do What They Do and Say What They Say

My daughter recently wrote a book review about “How to Speak Chicken” but I actually didn’t get a chance to read the book before then because it was in her room. It’s now in my stack of reading and I’m loving it. It is so fun to try to interpret what our chickens are communicating!

Montana Master Gardener Manual:

You know you’re a super-nerd gardener when you have this book in your stack of reading! The Montana Master Gardener book is a required resource when taking the Montana Master Gardener certification course, which I finally did in 2021.

This is a dense book bursting with information that I often reference when gardening season gets underway. This is a book for the gardener who wants to take a deeper dive into the science of gardening.

Serving Up the Harvest: Celebrating the Goodness of Fresh Vegetables 175 Simple Recipes

Have you ever been in a cooking slump? I occasionally go through these, especially late in winter when we have minimal fresh produce and our stores of preserved foods from the summer are starting to run low.

When I get into a cooking slump, I turn to a cookbook for inspiration. For years my favorite was the Simply in Season Cookbook but after using it for so long I found myself needing some fresh ideas and recipes.

I found this wonderful Serving Up The Harvest cookbook at a yard sale last summer and I’m so thrilled I found it!

The recipes are broken down into seasons so I can flip to the winter section and know I’ll find some great recipes to try using produce we are more likely to have during our winter season.

Essentially Soap: The Elegant Art of Handmade Soap

I first checked this book out from the library four years ago. I had been experimenting with making a variety of soaps using more uncommon fats I had rendered such as venison and bacon fat.

I recently came across a page in one of my notebooks where I had jotted down notes about tweaking some recipes from this book to make venison soap and bacon fat soap. I’ve been wanting to make more batches of these soaps but couldn’t remember exactly how I made it before. I’m thrilled I found my notes and checked this book out from the library again!

What I really love about this book is that the author (who has a PhD in Chemistry) clearly explains the science behind soap making and makes it understandable to the average person. This gave me the confidence to start making my own recipes for homemade soap.

The book has some great recipes in the back as well as tips on how to add coloring, scent and other additives to enhance the soap.

Now that I’ve rediscovered this book, I can’t wait to mix up a batch of bacon fat soap again!

The Essential Hoof Book: The Complete Modern Guide to Horse Feet-Anatomy, Care and Health, Disease Diagnosis and Treatment

This book is a must have for any equine owners out there. A friend recommended this book to me last year so I checked it out from the library. I loved it so much I recently bought a used copy for our home library.

Hooves are extremely important to our equine animals yet there’s so little the average person knows. This book is well written with lots of helpful pictures to explain the hoof structure, care, and issues that may arise. What a fascinating read!

My friend who recommended this book is actually using the knowledge she learned and the help of a mentor to start trimming her own equine’s hooves. Now that’s a goal I have someday and I know that with the knowledge I’m learning in this book it’s not such a daunting goal!

Homesteading Books for Teens Tweens and kids

Big Sister, also known as our newest writer “Chicken Wrangler“, is a total book worm! She is always finding new books to explore through the library’s inter-library loan program which allows her to access books from libraries around the state of Montana and have them available to pick up at our local library.

Big Sister is a “tween” but she reads so much that her reading level is more advanced and she’s often found reading creative how-to books for teens and even adults!

Little Brother is six years old and loves when I read to him. He’s a beginning reader so some of our favorite books are a little too complex for him to read yet.  Lucky for me he still loves to snuggle up and have me read to him.

Little Homesteader: A Spring Treasury of Recipes, Crafts and Wisdom

My daughter discovered this fun series of books at the library this winter called the “Little Homesteader” series with a different book dedicated to each season.

What I love about this book series is that it has relevant homesteading related activities geared towards the younger crowd. It’s accessible for my six year old if I read it to him and help him with the projects. It’s also perfect for 11 year old Big Sister to read and do the activities on her own.

We just finished the Winter themed book that had a whole section on tapping maple trees which was so perfect since we are gearing up to do that any day now.

We are now reading the Spring Treasury book in the series. Big Sister was inspired to make a foraged wind chime and is looking forward to trying the recipe for foraged violet syrup once ours start blooming this spring.

Herb Fairies, 13 Book Series

I bought the full set of 13 books in the Herb Fairies book series when my daughter was five and wanting to learn more about herbs and foraging with me.  Six years later and Big Sister loves the Herb Fairies books so much she has re-read them several times!

The Herb Fairies book series is especially great this time of year as a refresher on all the wild edibles we can forage that will soon start growing again.

Each book in the series focuses on a specific herb, like Dandelion or Chickweed, and has a fun story to help children learn the plant’s remedies and herbal healing abilities.

A Kid’s Guide to Maple Tapping: Let’s Make Maple Syrup

This book is always a favorite that we read this time of year as we gear up to tap our trees for syrup. The book explains why tree sap flows and how to tap trees and make syrup in your own backyard.

It’s written specifically for a younger audience so it’s easy to understand and includes great pictures. There are also several fun activities included in the back of the book.

Loaves of Fun: A History of Bread With Activities and Recipes From Around the World

This is a book we’ve actually checked out at the library a couple times. It is a fun book that explains the history of bread around the world and includes recipes for each section.

This is a great book to use in our homeschool since we love to incorporate cooking and baking into our learning anytime we can!

Bees: A Honeyed History

I found this gem of a book at the library last week. As a family of beekeepers, I’m always looking for books to use in our homeschool for us to learn more about honey bees. This book is such a fun read!

It explains the anatomy of a honey bee as well as the life cycle and large illustrations of what exactly goes on inside the bee hive. It also explores the history of honey bees and uses for honey from Ancient Egypt to the modern era.

My favorite part of the book is the section with random fascinating facts, like who holds the world record for the longest time spent inside a swarm of honey bees. This feat was accomplished by hanging honey bee queen cages from a man’s body. This encouraged thousands of honey bees to settle on his body. He lasted for 52 minutes and 24 seconds!!

I love reading random, fascinating facts like this but it also makes me wonder how people come up with these wild and crazy ideas!

A Kid’s Herb Book for Children of all Ages

A couple weeks ago, my children and I made another batch of our homemade herbal lip balm and our favorite herbal medicinal salve.

Big Sister has been reading more about other herbs we can use and what we can make with them. This book is an excellent resource for kids since my herb books can be a bit too dense for a younger reader.

Junior Garden Book: Cool Projects for Kids to Make and Grow

My mom gave this book to my daughter when she was a toddler and it became one of her favorite books when she was little. The book is spiral bound and the pages are made of durable paper so it doesn’t easily tear- perfect for little hands to explore the book!

My tween daughter has outgrown this book but it’s now a favorite for six year old Little Brother. He loves to look through the book and pick out fun garden themed crafts to do.

 

What homesteading books are you currently reading? Share in the comments below!