Spring Picture Books for Kids

Reach for a taste of early spring with a lovely picture book whether you’re in the last days of winter or the first days of spring!

You’ve done the cold and cozy, and you’re ready to shed winter and bring home and family into the warm light of spring. We all are. It’s what makes spring special. After bunkering down for so long, the children are ready to wiggle! All things feel new again, and somehow it is easy to re-delight over the spring books we treasure each year.

12 Weeks of Spring Nature Topics

This year, in our home and our homeschool, we are giving the twelve weeks of spring a singular interest: the pond. Spring is fresh, and unlocks untold amounts of ideas while nature wakes up. The pond provides conversation and interactive play for our littles. We share a neighborhood pond, and live near creeks where we could extend our exploration. Here are some of my ideas for spring play & books:

• Frogs, and their habitats and life cycle
• Fish, and how they’re different than other animals, how to catch them, etc.
• Bugs: catterpillars, butterflys, ladybugs, worms, ants, grasshoppers & crickets, aphids, junebugs, flies
• Water, and how it provides for animals, changes the landscape, forms clouds
• Weather, such as thunderstorms, fog, clouds, etc.
• Berries: when their ripe, marking seasons, how to cook with them, colors & vitamins
• Ducks, and other feathered fowl
• Birds, and their nests, eggs, migrations
• Trees

Each of these ideas could be stretched for many weeks, and have auxiliary ideas too!

Spring Picture Books

These are 35 of our favorite spring books. Some of them are simply beautiful – full of color after many books of white and blue. Others are intellectual, adding curiosity to the beauty. Either way, they pair great with picnics, popcorn and popsicles!

Spring is Here

1. “And Then It’s Spring” by Julie Fogliano
2. “In the Spring” by Craig McFar­land Brown
3. “Busy Spring, Nature Wakes up” by Sean Taylor & Alex Morss
4. “When Spring Comes” by Natalie Kinsey Warnock
5. “Nest” by Jorey Hur­ley

Here Come the Flowers

1. “How ­Does My Garden Grow?” by Gerda Muller
2. “Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt” by Kate Mess­ner
3. “Too Many Carrots” by Katy Hudson
4. “The Giant Carrot” by Jan Peck ** This story is so funny!
5. “The Big Book of Blooms” by Yuval Zommer
6. “A Little More Beautiful” by Sarah Mackenzie
7. “Whose Garden is it?” by Mary Ann Hoberman

Bugs, Bugs, Bugs

1. “A Butterfly is Patient” by Dianna Hutts Aston
2. “Waiting for Wings” by Lois Elhert
3. “Butterfly House” by Eve Bunting
4. “The Big Book of Bugs” by Yuval Zommer ** Graphics are amazing!
5. “The Honey­bee” by Kirsten Hal­l

Weather Changes

1. “Rain” by Sam Usher 
2. “Sunshine and Snowballs” by Margaret Wise Brown
3. “Red Sky at Night” by Elly Mackay ** Love the phenology here!
4. “What will you Wear, Jesse Bear?” by Nancy White Carlstrom
5. “When the Storm Comes” by Linda Ashman

A Time for Berries

1. “Blue­ber­ries ­for Sal” by Robert McCloskey
2. “Red Berry Wool” by Robyn Harbert Eversole
3. “Saving Strawberry Farm” by Deborah Hopkinson
4. “Jamberry” by Bruce Degen
5. “Bread and Jam for Frances” by Russell Hoban
6. “Stella and the Berry Thief” by Jane Mason ** This is one of my favorites!

Bonus: Read Aloud Books for Spring

1. “Good Dog: All You Need is Mud” by Cam Higgins
2. “Good Dog: Bo Hatches a Plan” by Cam Higgins
3. “Good Dog: This Little Pup Went to the Market” by Cam Higgins
4. “Brambley Hedge: Spring” by Jill Barklem
5. “Sophie Mouse: It’s Raining, It’s Pouring” by Poppy Green
6. “Heartwood Hotel: Better Together” by Kallie George
7. “The Lighthouse Family: The Eagle” by Cynthia Rylant
8. “The Littles” by John Lawrence Peterson

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