A Child's Garden : Enchanting Outdoor Spaces for Children and Parents 
by Molly Dannenmaier, Constance Herndon 
Hardcover - 208 pages (March 1998) 

Amazon.com  A Child's Garden is an excellent guide for parents wishing to create natural spaces in the garden where their children can openly play and explore. Stepping beyond the traditional ideas of building a treehouse or planting a vegetable garden, the authors include 60 unique ways to tailor a landscape to nurture a child's sense of enchantment and wonder. For instance, many children like to hide, and the book includes ideas for building natural caves out of woven willow branches, climbing vines, or weeping shrubs. For parents wanting to plant a good tree for climbing, this guide knowledgeably recommends the fast-growing and sturdy Norway maple as one of the best. It's filled with such information throughout its nine sections on water, creatures, refuges, dirt, heights, movement, make-believe, nurturing, and learning. Messages on safety are
                        wisely included, along with an excellent list of resources covering everything from buying  butterfly houses to visiting selected children's gardens. Through its many color photographs and  warm, wise text, A Child's Garden will draw parents into their children's timeless, carefree  world and perhaps back to a time when they themselves explored streams, played in the sand, studied bugs, and roamed without agenda. --Karen Karleski 

  Synopsis 
This gorgeous, full-color exploration of the family garden--stuffed with resourceful ideas and easy--to-complete projects--shows how to create thriving gardens that serve both the child's need for creative play and the adult's yearning for beauty and serenity. 100 full-color photos   7-city author tour. . 
 

  A reader from Ventura, Cal. , December 14, 1998 
A wonderful book for parents and gardeners 
This book is exactly what I was searching for. I love to garden, but I also need to accommodate my two rambunctious children and a variety of pets. This book has page after page of creative ideas, safety considerations, examples, and plenty of photos. The author is clear, interesting, and very informative about both gardening and childhood development. 

 A reader from USA , September 26, 1998
A delightful way for parents to connect with their children 
This beautifully illustrated book looks at gardens with the delight of a child from the perspective of a mother who loves her children and her community. Ms. Dannenmaier shows us how to get more out of the natural world, no matter our age or environment. She shows parents how to connect with their children in the garden, particularly urban spaces. This is a great gift book.