Once upon a time there was an idea. Like most ideas, it started with a question: what if you could bring your favorite children’s book to life? What if you could hop aboard the magic school bus? Meet the three bears? Create your own world with Harold and a purple crayon? Over fifteen years ago, a woman in Sheboygan, Wisconsin named Sandy Livermore had an idea – she wanted to bring books to life one garden at a time. The idea took root and became Bookworm Gardens.

Bookworm is a botanical garden based on children's literature, and our mission is to enrich the mind, body, and spirit of the young and young at heart through exploration in a garden environment based on children's literature. Learn more about our founding and history.

We are open May through October and house over 80 different gardens, each inspired by a children’s book. Bookworm Gardens opened in 2010 and since then we’ve been busy with beloved events for all ages, field trips, summer camps, Nature School, and so much more. We encourage our community to visit, explore, and become connected with the natural world. In 2023 we saw nearly 72,000 general visitors from 49 out of 50 states including international visitors from the UK, Canada, Germany, France, and Australia!

Bookworm Gardens is a grassroots non-profit organization that values community connections. Over the past twenty years thousands of people have volunteered their time, talents and treasures to get us where we are today.

In a world of uncertainty, the Gardens have become a place of joy. We’ve proven that even the smallest seed of an idea can grow into something amazing. With the help of our community, we can continue to write the next chapter in our story so that Bookworm Gardens can not only be a place where books come to life, but where outdoor learning and nature exploration can thrive.

For more information about how you can get involved, check out the links below.