There’s nothing like feeling the first signs of spring. The sun warming your skin. The sound of birdsong in the morning. Blooming flowers brightening a routine walk. For preschoolers who have only experienced this phenomenon a few times, it’s the perfect opportunity to tap into their curiosity about the transformations taking place around them. At our house, this means new spring books for the kids.
Whether at home or in the classroom, there’s nothing like a good story to draw our attention to the special things happening in nature all around us. Time to celebrate the magic of spring!
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5 Spring Books for Kids about Seasons Changing
What does spring mean to young children? Introduce them to the excitement that comes with nature’s awakening with these engaging and informational stories about the arrival of spring.
GOODBYE WINTER, HELLO SPRING
By Kenard Pak
Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring is a simple story about a boy and his dog saying goodbye to the cold dark days of winter as they welcome the new signs of spring. Kenard Pak’s seasonal series is a fun and easy way to introduce each new season to young children.
IT’S SPRING!
By Linda Glaser, illustrated by Susan Swan
Swan’s gorgeous cut-paper illustrations immediately make It’s Spring! stand out from the crowd. The art in this book always inspires me to create something of my own. In addition to this being a wonderful story, it can also serve as inspiration to introduce spring art projects that go beyond classic paper-based projects like tissue paper blossoms.
AND THEN IT’S SPRING
By Julie Fogliano, illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Released to wide acclaim in 2012, And Then It’s Spring is a simple and sweet book that draws you in with the characters’ hopeful wait for spring to arrive. It’s a great read-aloud and the perfect accompaniment to spending time in a garden with children in early spring.
WHEN SPRING COMES
By Kevin Henkes, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
When Spring Comes is a sweet story about the way that the world transforms with the arrival of spring. From trees transformed by colorful blossoms and an egg becoming a bird, this is a fitting read-aloud for young children whose perspective on time and seasonal change is so different than our own.
ABRACADABRA, IT’S SPRING! (SEASONAL MAGIC)
By Anne Sibley O’Brien, illustrated by Susan Gal
Abracadabra, It’s Spring! is one of four Seasonal Magic books that share each season’s transformations through the language of magic. The beautiful illustrations and gatefolds add to the fun of reading this book aloud to preschoolers and kindergarteners.
5 Spring Books for Kids about Spring Weather
SOAKED!
Written and illustrated by Abi Cushman
Who likes to play in the rain? In Soaked!, the hula-hooping moose is all in, but Bear is still grumpy. Reading this unconventional rainy day story is sure to elicit a giggle or two from young audiences. Anyone shying away from getting wet will want to splish- splosh in the puddles in no time.
LITTLE CLOUD
By Eric Carle
Introduce preschoolers to the fun of finding pictures in the clouds with Little Cloud by Eric Carle. The power in this book is in the pictures more than the text, with Carle’s well-known collage-style stretching our imaginations. Young children will be sure to take a second look at the sky after reading this story.
WHO LIKES RAIN?
By Wong Herbert Yee
We need to get through plenty of April showers to bring May flowers! In Who Likes Rain? the main character braves a rainy day outdoors in order to explore just who does and doesn’t like the rain. This delightful rhyming book will inspire some puddle jumping in young audiences for sure!
WORM WEATHER
By Jean Taft, illustrated by Matt Hunt
Last year, when Bug was 2, I took him on a walk outside after the rain. I showed him a worm wriggling in the mud, thinking he’d be fascinated. His reaction? He stomped on it because he was scared and had no idea what it was! I should have prepared him by reading Jean Taft’s Worm Weather beforehand. A simple story, perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, it follows worms and children along as they delight in a rainy spring day.
HOW THE CRAYONS SAVED THE RAINBOW
By Monica Sweeny, illustrated by Feronia Parker-Thomas
You can’t talk about spring weather without sharing stories about everyone’s favorite…rainbows! How the Crayons Saved the Rainbow is not going to help with scientific explanations, but it’s a fun little story with a meaningful lesson about forgiveness and being better together.
5 Spring Books for Kids about Springtime Animal Friends
SPRING IS HERE: A BEAR AND MOLE STORY
By Will Hillenbrand
This story about Mole trying to wake up hibernating Bear reminds me of my mother trying to get me out of bed in high school! Spring is Here will be an entertaining story to read aloud to preschoolers, with plenty of repetition and sensory words to engage them.
THE HONEYBEE
By Kirsten Hall, illustrated by Isabelle Arsenault
The Honeybee draws children in with questions and rhymes, making the story both entertaining and educational. Learning to see the world from a bee’s perspective makes them a little less scary and a lot more awe-inspiring. Side note: I want to frame some of Isabelle Arsenault’s cheerful illustrations to hang in my house!
SPRING! TIME TO BUILD A NEST, A STORY ABOUT TRUMPETER SWANS
By Barbara Renner
Spring has arrived and Pen and Cob need to make their nests. SPRING! Time to Build a Nest follows the swan couple as they encounter other pond animals along their journey to making a new home. The story provides insight into the needs of swans and their neighbors and would be a great read alongside a springtime nest-making project.
A WALK THROUGH THE WOODS
By Louise Greig, illustrated by Helen Musselwhite
A Walk Through the Woods is a gorgeous book about woodland animals waiting for morning, and spring, to come. The intricate paper illustrations make the book stand out, but they are on the delicate side. This book is a perfect gift for little ones who can enjoy pop-up stories without tearing pages.
FLETCHER AND THE SPRINGTIME BLOSSOMS
By Julia Rawlinson, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms is about Fletcher the fox who is enjoying the arrival of spring until he confuses falling blossoms with snow. He tries to warn his woodland friends about the return of winter, but springtime holds surprises for all of them. This new story is a great addition to classroom units on the seasons or as a bedtime story.
5 Spring Books for Kids about Springtime Blooms
LOLA PLANTS A GARDEN
By Anna McQuinn, illustrated by Rosalind Beardshaw
Lola Plants a Garden is a wonderful story for kids and grown-ups alike! Children will enjoy following along with Lola as she makes her garden a special place to share with friends. For adults, it offers plenty of ideas for spring and garden-themed projects for kids. It’s the perfect companion to your own kid-friendly garden space. A perfect read to help children with the most exciting and painful part of gardening, waiting for those flowers and veggies to grow!
PLANTING A RAINBOW
By Lois Ehlert
Planting a Rainbow would be a great addition to any spring color or garden unit. Or it just might inspire you to teach both together! I know that I’d now love to plant a rainbow garden with my boys. The trick is always remembering to plant the fall bulbs!
YUCKY WORMS
By Vivan French, illustrated by Jessica Ahlberg
A different take on spring gardening, Yucky Worms teaches young children why worms are our friends. Kids learn all about how worms move, where they live, and why they are a gardener’s best friend in this entertaining and informative story.
I CAN GROW A FLOWER
By Life Cycle Board Books
I Can Grow a Flower is a clever nonfiction book that follows the life cycle of a mystery seed. Readers see each sprout and bud until they can finally identify the flower when it blooms. The lift-a-flap format keeps the surprise factor going in an engaging way. The pull-out height chart at the end is a nice touch, allowing children to measure their own height against a sunflower’s impressive growth. A great gift idea for a garden-loving family.
BLOOM BOOM!
By April Pulley Sayre
Each year, people flock to witness gorgeous spring wildflower blooms. Bloom Boom! explores the phenomenon for preschoolers and early readers through a photographic exploration of wildflowers in a range of landscapes. This is a great introduction to the science behind wildflower blooms. Make sure to take a look before spring hikes!
5 Spring Books for Kids about Springtime Fun
KITE FLYING
By Grace Lin
I love how the premise of Kite Flying is about a family crafting a kite together just as much, if not more, than the kite flying. My one warning is that readers should be prepared for kite-making requests after storytime! The book concludes with two pages that go deeper into the origins and cultural traditions of kite making.
A NEW BEGINNING: CELEBRATING THE SPRING EQUINOX
By Wendy Pfeffer, illustrated by Linda Bleck
A New Beginning offers insight into the meaning of the spring equinox from the perspective of science and cultural celebrations around the world. This is a great pick for kids in elementary school. For early childhood, parents and teachers might just want to explore one or two holidays at a time. For any age, this book offers inspiration for making crafts and foods to deepen children’s appreciation for how diverse cultures celebrate this special season of new beginnings. There are even instructions and recipes at the end to help!
WE’RE GOING ON A NATURE HUNT
By Steve Metzger
Structured like the ever-popular We’re Going on a Bear Hunt, We’re Going on a Nature Hunt follows a group of friends as they explore worms, frogs, and bird nests together on a nature walk. This story would be a fun read-aloud before a walk on a trail, or even through your neighborhood. I’m a huge fan of nature scavenger hunts (here’s a roundup of our favorites), so this one is right up our alley! Together you can make a list of things that you might see and explore on your adventure.
I TOOK A WALK
By Henry Cole
Henry Cole’s I Took a Walk celebrates walking slowly and finding a sit spot where you can absorb your surroundings. Like your eyes adjusting to the darkness, sitting quietly in one spot allows your attention to open up to all of the hidden flora and fauna that you might otherwise ignore with your attention focused on the trail ahead. This takes practice, which is where the book comes in. It reads like an I-Spy puzzle, asking the reader to find hidden plants and animals on each page.
MUD
By Mary Lyn Rae, illustrated by Lauren Stringer
Mud is an ode to every preschooler’s springtime favorite. The story begins as a child wakes up to notice the scent of transformed earth. This event begins a gradual transformation as the land softens and returns to green. With plenty of opportunities to squish, splat, and ooze along the way.
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