I’m so ready for spring!
I’m tired of the dreary cold snowy weather of winter.
We love to cuddle and read books while the wind wuthers, hopefully blowing in some warmer weather.
Here’s a list of fun books to celebrate everything spring: gardening, clouds, warm rain, wind, flowers, and being outside in the sunshine!
A Gardener’s Alphabet by Mary Azarian
With her signature woodblock prints, the Caldecott medalist Mary Azarian invites readers into her own garden to discover its simple joys. Revealing the variety of life underground, the bright comfort of a greenhouse on a winter’s day, or the anticipation of starting seeds indoors in early spring, this striking alphabet book reminds us that gardens are perhaps our best way to live closer to the land and to the rhythm of the seasons.
I Love the Rain by Margaret Park Bridges
Molly hates rainy days. The gray sky, the soggy wait for the school bus, they seem to make everyone grumpy. Everyone except her friend Sophie, who shows Molly the magic she has been missing.
The simple, poetic language in this lovely book takes readers on a journeyfrom the girls’ first tentative steps into the drizzle to a rain-drenched romp in a puddle. The lyrical text is perfectly matched by the joyful watercolor paintings, which capture not only the color and beauty of a rainy day, but the warm interactions of the girls’ blossoming friendship. An exuberant homage to finding pleasure where it’s unexpected, the power of imagination, and the joys of friendship, I Love the Rain will have readers singing, “Sun, sun, go away!”
From Tadpole to Frog by Wendy Pfeffer
Female frogs lay eggs in the water, but what hatches isn’t a frog yet—it’s a tadpole! This classic Level 1 Let’s-Read-and-Find-Out picture book shows the incredible metamorphosis that occurs as a tadpole loses its fishy tail and gills and becomes a frog.
Now rebranded with a new cover look, this book includes a find out more section with an illustrated guide to identify different frog species and a map showing where bull frogs can be found throughout the United States.
The Falling Flowers by Jennifer B. Reed
Mayumie and her grandmother take a trip into Tokyo to see a surprise even more fun than the zoo and more beautiful than the shrine: cherry blossoms flowering in the heart of the city.
It Looked Like Spilt Milk by Charles G. Shaw
The white shape silhouetted against a blue background changes on every page. Is it a rabbit, a bird, an ice-cream cone, or just spilt milk? In this childhood classic, kids are kept guessing until the surprise ending, and they’re encouraged to improvise similar games of their own. This board book features sturdy pages and is just the right fit for small hands.
Zinnia’s Flower Garden by Monica Wellington
Springtime is here, and Zinnia can’t wait to plant her seeds and watch them grow. She carefully takes care of her garden, watering her plants, weeding, and waiting patiently for something to sprout. And soon enough, the first seedlings appear! With art just as colorful as a garden in bloom, young readers will enjoy watching Zinnia’s beautiful garden grow, and may even be inspired to start one of their own.
The Tree Lady: The True Story of How One Tree-Loving Woman Changed a City Forever by H. Joseph Hopkins
Unearth the true story of green-thumbed pioneer and activist Kate Sessions, who helped San Diego grow from a dry desert town into a lush, leafy city known for its gorgeous parks and gardens.
Katherine Olivia Sessions never thought she’d live in a place without trees. After all, Kate grew up among the towering pines and redwoods of Northern California. But after becoming the first woman to graduate from the University of California with a degree in science, she took a job as a teacher far south in the dry desert town of San Diego. Where there were almost no trees.
The Gardener by Sarah Stewart
Lydia Grace Finch brings a suitcase full of seeds to the big gray city, where she goes to stay with her Uncle Jim, a cantankerous baker. There she initiates a gradual transformation, bit by bit brightening the shop and bringing smiles to customers’ faces with the flowers she grows. But it is in a secret place that Lydia Grace works on her masterpiece — an ambitious rooftop garden — which she hopes will make even Uncle Jim smile.
Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert
An array of collages follows the progress of a mother and daughter as they plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings and watch them grow into a rainbow of colorful flowers
The Garden of Happiness by Erika Tamar
A littered lot in New York’s Alphabet City is transformed into a lush garden by people of the neighborhood. Young Marisol finds a small patch of her own, where she plants a large, flat seed. As it grows up and up, it surprises everyone and becomes the most special plant in the Garden of Happiness.
Spring Board Book by Gerda Muller
One of a series of chunky board books which lead young children through the seasons.
Seedfolks by Paul Fleischman
Kim begins the garden, planting a few lima beans to connect with her father who died when she was a baby in Vietnam. Then Tío Juan, a farmer from Guatemala, gains purpose when he teaches the neighborhood children how to plant. Soon curious neighbors join in and together they grow a beautiful garden. With each bean sprout and cucumber blossom the residents of Gibs Street find hope and meaning in their little green paradise.
Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic by Steven Schnur
New grass and daffodils, hopscotch and kite flying, kittens under the porch and baby birds under the eaves are the subjects of Steven Schnur’s evocative verses and Leslie Evans’s luminous linoleum-cut illustrations. When read vertically, each poem reveals a playful acrostic, making every handsomely designed page a double treat for the eye as well as a joyous tribute to the season.
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson
Fletcher loves everything about spring: listening to the birds sing, smelling just-opened flowers, and playing chase with butterflies. But then Fletcher sees something he never expected to see in spring: snow. Oh, no!
But it turns out that spring has another surprise in store for Fletcher—a warm and wondrous one.
Jump into spring with Fletcher and friends!
And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano
Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they’ve had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.
Explore Spring!: 25 Great Ways to Learn About Spring by Lauri Berkenkamp
Combining hands-on learning with solid science, trivia, riddles, and terrific illustrations, projects investigate “the reason for the season” and include identifying trees and measuring their growth, recording soil temperature, and observing the forest floor. Bird migration and nest building are covered, and the movement of air and water is studied with experiments in capillary action and in such activities as “Making Parachutes,” Making Kites,” and “Mapping Air Currents with Bubbles.”
Everything Spring by Jill Esbaum
We think of spring and we feel warmer, sunny days, we smell the freshness of nature’s flowers blooming again, and we picture little chicks and furry bunnies. These adorable baby animals are fun to look at and they represent the spirit of renewal and life that is spring. Every young creature finally ventures outside to play as the dreary days of winter fade away and color surround us all. Spring is about being outdoors enjoying all that our wonderful planet has to offer—it’s about living life to the fullest.
A Rainbow of My Own by Don Freeman
A small boy imagines what it would be like to have his own rainbow to play with.
Spring is Here! by Heidi Pross Gray
Discover the world as it wakes from its winter slumber as the flowers blossom, the animals come out from their resting place, and nature comes alive during this season of renewal. Head outside and play soccer and baseball with your friends while enjoying a wonderful picnic lunch from the food you grew in your garden! Heidi has done it again with this wonderful, wholesome book about the spring season, tying family and nature together in a book that will leave you feeling excited about spring!
What Can You See in Spring? by Sian Smith
Books in this series introduce emergent readers to the four seasons. In Spring, children are taken on a tour of things they can see in spring including typical spring activities and new life and growth in the natural world. Beautiful photos, very simple repeated text, high frequency and decodeable words and strong photo-to-text matching make this a perfect book for early readers to enjoy.
In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb by Marion Dane Bauer
March comes in with a roar.
He rattles your windows
and scratches at your door.
In this exuberant, rhythmic story, March, personified as a lion, enters a boy’s cozy home and leaves a trail of snow flurries and muddy footprints. The boy calmly observes the pouncing, howling, growling lion until in comes the lamb on the crest of a huge sneeze.
Escorted by grass, flowers, sunshine, showers, and animal babies, the lamb brings forth spring.
Feel the Wind by Arthur Dorros
Have you ever felt the wind tickle your face or heard it whistle through your window? Did you know that some wind travels faster than a car? Read inside to find out more about what causes wind, and learn how to make your own weather vane!
Have you ever felt the wind tickle your face or heard it whistle through your window? Did you know that some wind travels faster than a car?
Air is always moving. We can’t see air moving, though we can watch it push clouds across the sky, or shake the leaves of a tree. We call moving air the wind. In this enlarged edition, find out about the wind – what causes it, how it can be used to help us, and how it affects the weather.
Kite Day: A Bear and Mole Story by Will Hillenbrand
On a windy spring day, what do Bear and Mole decide to do? Why, fly a kite, of course! But first they have to build one. They design, measure, and finally construct their kite. With a zoom, zoom, zoom the kite soars up, up, up in the air. But when a storm rumbles in –SNAP!–the kite string breaks! The chase is on as the two friends tear after their kite and find it in a tree, protecting a nest of baby birds from the rain.
Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand
Sniff. Sniff. Sniff. Spring is in the air. Mole can smell it. But Bear is still asleep after his long winter nap. How will Mole wake up Bear so they can celebrate together? When a knock, knock, knock and toot, toot, toot can’t get Bear out of bed, Mole cooks up a special treat.
Spring fever is catching in this vibrant story of friendship.
Who Likes Rain? by Wong Herbert Yee
It’s time to put on your rain gear for a rainy-day romp!
With spring come April showers. It’s time to put on a raincoat, grab an umbrella, and head outdoors. The worms like rain, and so do the fish and frogs. But what about the cat and dog? In this lyrical picture book, one spunky little girl discovers just who likes rain–and who doesn’t–as she explores the rainy-day habits of the world around her.
A New Beginning by Wendy Pfeffer
The spring equinox signals the time of year when the days are getting longer, the growing season has begun, and animals give birth to their young. With accessible, lyrical prose and vibrant illustrations, this book explains the science behind spring and shows how the annual rebirth of Earth has been celebrated by various cultures throughout the ages and the world.
How Robin Saved Spring by Debbie Ouellet
If Lady Winter has her way, the world will stay covered in blankets of snowy white and icy blue. Sister Spring will slumber forever and the winter will never end. Can Lady Winter really keep spring from coming or is there something the animals might do to help? Led by harbinger Robin, the animals are determined to wake Sister Spring, but what price will they each have to pay?
Through beautiful words and pictures, this enchanting tale about the battle of the seasons highlights one special bird who saves much more than just the day.
Bloom: An Ode to Spring by Deborah Diesen
Dig holes in the autumn soil.
Drop the bulbs in one by one.
Cover them with dirt.
Come spring, the bulbs will flower!
In this lushly illustrated story from Deborah Diesen that celebrates life and growing up, a mother and daughter plant a garden to see how something small blooms into something as beautiful and strong as their love.
When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes
Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it—and you can read it!
Spring Walk by Virginia Snow
After a long winter’s sleep, the soil is springing to life. Spring flowers break through the ground to welcome warmer days. Come with Grammy and her grandchildren as they explore and learn all about 24 different flowers. Once home, she teaches them how to plant their own flowers from seeds and make beautiful bouquets.
The Story of the Root Children by Sibylle von Olfers
The root children spend the winter asleep. When spring comes, they wake, sew themselves new gowns, and clean and paint the beetles and bugs. All summer they play in fields, ponds and meadows before returning in the autumn to Mother Earth, who welcomes them home and puts them to bed once more.
When The Root Children Wake Up by Audrey Wood
Complimented with Ned Bittinger’s stunning illustrations, best-selling author Audrey Wood’s new version of a timeless classic is the perfect read aloud for this spring and gift all year round.
When Old Grandfather Winter disappears into his ice palace high in the mountains, Young Robin chirps her wake-up song to the Root Children deep underground. “Wake up,” she sings. “It’s time for the masquerade!”
Right away, the Root children set to work sewing their flowering costumes, and painting bugs with rainbows until they sparkle like jewels. Then, they frolic out into the world in a joyous chorus of color and song. They sing and dance through summer. But all good things must come to an end, and as the frosty autumn winds blow away the leaves and flowers, the Root Children must return to their underground bed with gentle Mother Earth.
Elsie and Pooka Stories – Spring by Lora Craig-Gaddis
These stories guide children through the Wheel of the Year in a way that is entertaining and amusing. Through these pages, Elsie, with her patience and gentle wisdom, provides a positive role model and instructor while children identify with Pooka. He asks questions. He makes them laugh. Sometimes, he even gets into trouble. They learn as he learns.
Ostara: Rituals, Recipes & Lore for the Spring Equinox by Kerri Connor
Ostara―also known as the Spring Equinox is a time of renewal, a time to plant seeds as the earth once again comes to life.
Ostara: Customs, Spells & Rituals for the Rites of Spring by Edain McCoy
Embrace Ostara as a point of balance in your life, a moment in time where both dark and light and night and day are in harmony before the light is victorious and carries us on to the bounty of summer pleasures. Ostara is packed with rituals, spells, recipes, crafts, and customs to celebrate the awakening earth.
This delightful guidebook will help you deepen your understanding of the spiritual aspects of this ancient spring holiday, and discover new ideas for expressing that spirituality.
Spring by Tanya Thayer
Crisp photography teams with easy-to-understand, repetitive sentences that encourage beginning readers to discover the world–one season at a time.
The Spring Equinox: Celebrating the Greening of the Earth by Ellen Jackson
Describes some of the ways in which people have celebrated the coming of spring, including the Mayas, the ancient Romans, and the Cree, as well as such holidays as Passover, No Ruz, Holi, and Easter, and suggest related activities.
It’s Spring by Susan Swan
Simple text and bold, beautiful paper sculpture convey the animal life, plant life, weather, colors, clothing, and feelings associated with the spring season.
