Denton’s Books Teach How Environment Is A Giant Web

Local author Dawn Denton is committed to helping children fall in love with nature and realize the value that wildlife brings to the garden.

The master gardener and former elementary school teacher has written a series of four Guests in the Garden books — “Ruby and Rocket,” “Oliver the Toad,” “Betzy the Bumblebee” and “Mable the Ladybug” — for children ages 4 through 9. She has also written a book titled “The Last Leaf,” for children age 2 through 6.

Denton hopes her books teach children respect and stewardship for the natural world. Her series focuses on the good critters in the garden and are told through the eyes of the animal. The whimsical stories teach kids facts about animals and plant life as well as a life lesson.

Each story features a different garden setting — flower garden, vegetable garden and herb garden — so that children can begin to think about different kinds of gardens and their purposes, she said.

For example, in “Betzy the Bumblebee,” the main character lives in a wildflower garden and longs to be a butterfly. In the story she learns how great it is to be a bumblebee, Denton said. In the book, children not only learn facts about bumblebees and pollination, they also learn the life lesson of enjoying who they are, she said.

Her most recent book, “Mable the Ladybug,” was released last spring. Mabel teaches other young ladybugs about their important job in the herb garden. Children get to learn the surprisingly different ways ladybugs look as they go through their life cycle, Denton said. They also learn a life lesson about obedience and participation.

“The goal is to somehow bring about another avenue for parents and teachers to teach about the beneficial things in nature,” she said.

Denton, who said she has had a vivid imagination since childhood, never imagined herself becoming an author. She credits her creative thinking and respect for nature to her mother, who took time to explain the details of what they were doing as Denton worked alongside her in the garden.

As an adult, Denton earned a bachelors degree in education at John Brown University and taught school for nine years, but her passion has always been gardening. In 2001 she quit her teaching job and took a job working for the Siloam Springs Parks and Recreation Department.

“I learned a lot about myself working for parks and rec,” she said.

In May 2007 she ventured out by opening her own garden design and consulting business — Gardens by You and Me. She has done large and small residential projects, as well as school and corporate projects.

Denton found that the only options for garden planning were either do-it-yourself or hire a landscape architect. Her business offers something in the middle.

She explained that sometimes homeowners can do all the work but need some guidance in designing their garden. Denton visits the client’s property, gives advice about which plants would work best, where to place the plants, which colors would be most aesthetically pleasing and how to improve soil conditions. She can also create easy to read hand-rendered designs.

Denton finds the business very fulfilling, but during winter, when things slow down, she began to look for something else to do.

“I wanted to try writing nature- themed children’s books because I knew the value of nature for children,” she said.

In recent years there has been a disconnect between children and the outdoors, Denton said. When she was teaching school, she found there were lots of books that gave specific facts about one animal, but not many books that tied how that animal affects the whole environ- ment and explained their purpose.

Many people don’t understand the impact of beneficial animals and insects in nature, she said.

In 2014 Denton became a grandma and took a break from her series to write “The Last Leaf,” for younger children. The book is written in poem form that leads the reader to imagine what it would feel like to be the last leaf on a tree in the fall.

The short book also explores emotions, asking the reader to imagine if the leaf would feel sad and lonely or feel like a champion who had won the race.

Like all of her books, she came up with the idea while spending time outdoors and using her imagination.

Denton’s books are available in both softcover and hardback. Each book includes a code to download a free audio file of Denton reading the book. Denton worked with her publisher to make the recordings at Stonebridge Recording in Siloam Springs.

Through the end of 2015, Denton is donating 30 percent of the proceeds of her book sales to the Friends of the Siloam Springs Library to purchase nature books for the new library. She has set a goal to purchase the top 20 children’s nature books recommended by the Children’s Nature Network library in Saint Paul, Minn.

For more information about Denton, her books and her business, visit www.nwarkansasgardendesign.com. Her books can be purchased at Amazon, Garden Gate Flowers and Gifts in Gentry, or by emailing dawn@gardensbyyouandme.com.