Finally. Spring is on the horizon. It’s time to celebrate the end of another winter and the birth of a new season. Spring brings with it the urge to open windows, deep clean everything, and spend much more time in the sun. If you’re anything like me, you’re also gearing up for a new season of reading. So for your enjoyment, I’ve compiled a list of our favorite Springtime books. These reads will help you and your kids get excited about exploring nature, going on adventures, and appreciate everything Spring has to offer.
Get your library lists ready!
Of course, we all know and love The Very Hungry Caterpillar, but Eric Carle has written so many other worthwhile books to explore this spring. Other titles include The Tiny Seed (bonus: there’s a video on Amazon Prime as well!), The Very Busy Spider, The Grouchy Ladybug, and The Very Clumsy Click Beetle, which is probably my favorite of the bunch.
Flower Garden by Eve Bunting is a refreshing take on spring in the city. The story is about a little girl who plants a flower box for her mother’s birthday. She takes the bus with her father to the grocery store, chooses flowers, and plants them in the window box outside of her apartment. Certainly a nice change in perspective for those of us who won’t have a sweeping garden to plant this spring.
Green Green: A Community Gardening Story by Marie Lamba is another picture book that focuses on the beauty of city gardening. The artwork in this book is stunning. Beyond that, woven through the simple story is the picture of coming together as a community to grow something beautiful. Your kids will want to read this one again and again.
Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson is a classic in this house. Bear has been hibernating all winter long, as shown in Bear Snores On. Now that he is awake, he is HUNGRY. His friends do their best to help him satisfy his insatiable appetite after he wakes up one lovely spring day.
With March comes St. Patrick’s Day. Along with St. Patrick’s Day, we love reading Irish folktales. It gives me a chance to work on my terrible but improving, Irish accent, and gives us a glimpse into a different culture through storytelling. Tomie DePaola writes some of our favorite renditions of Irish folktales. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato, and Fin M’Coul: The Giant of Knockmany Hill are a couple that we revisit every year. He also wrote our favorite book about Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland.
This is a book for your little nature lover. A Nest Is Noisy by Dianna Hutts Aston is a detailed and descriptive picture book, examining the different kinds of nests in nature. You will visit the nests of many animals: from alligators to Elf owls, to hornets, to lampreys. Don’t know what a lamprey is? Neither did I before I read this book. Enjoy, and keep your eyes peeled for a variety of nests this spring.
If you’re looking for something simple your young child can enjoy AND apply to their time outside, this book is perfect. Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature by Joyce Sidman pairs gorgeous, detailed illustration with simple but profound observation. Read this book, and look for spirals together outside. If you’re anything like me, your eyes will be opened to just how many spirals surround us.
Spring doesn’t just bring flowers and sunshine, it brings rain. Lots of rain. And rain can bring frustration to little ones wanting to play outside. This is exactly what happens in one of our favorite Elephant and Piggie books by Mo Willems, Are You Ready to Play Outside? Go along for the ride as Piggie and Gerald try to make the best of a disappointing situation. But fair warning: be ready to put on your rain boots and dance outside with the worms!
Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee explores just that. Our main character is an adventurous little girl who is bummed because her day has been ruined by the rain. Who likes rain, anyway? This book is very sweet and interactive, asking questions of the reader throughout, ultimately teaching them to see one event from different perspectives.
An oldie but such a goodie, it wouldn’t be a proper spring if we did not visit with The Adventures of Peter Cottontail by Thornton W. Burgess. There are many other books in this series as well, highlighting the other characters who inhabit Green Forest. The chapters are short, only a couple of pages, which makes it a really great read-aloud option for all ages. Seriously, I laugh just as much as my kids.
I honestly think I could go on and on just listing our favorite books, but apparently blog posts have to have a beginning and an ending. I would love to hear about your favorite springtime books. Let me know in the comments!
