When spring rolls around, the weather begins to change with April showers and May flowers. It might take some time for spring weather to finally arrive (especially in the Midwest), but you can get kids excited with a new spring book to help welcome the season.
These children’s books highlight the most beautiful moments of spring with stories about gardening, flowers, bugs and more. Looking for more ways to celebrate the season? Check out our spring fun family guide!
Spring books for littles
An ABC of Flowers, by Jutta Hilpuesch
- Best for ages: Infant to 3 years
Why not make teaching the ABCs a beautiful endeavor? Each flower pops off the page, from A is for Aster to Z is for Zinnia. Author Jutta Hilpuesch is a Chicagoland resident, and some of the proceeds from her Etsy shop, The Lucky Elephant, benefit Urban Initiatives, a Chicago-based nonprofit to benefit underserved public school programs.
Deep in the Ocean, by Lucie Brunelliere
- Best for ages: 2-6
A large board book with colors as beautiful as the deep sea, young readers and their parents will enjoy picking out fish and finding sea life. As a submarine takes a journey from ocean to ocean across the Earth, all manner of sea-faring wildlife is found.
My Tree and Me, by Jo Witek
- Best for ages: 2-4
A delightful final book in the Growing Hearts series, the book of seasons is one that preschoolers will enjoy. With a hole that shrinks as the narrator grows, the tree stands tall as the young girl expands her roots.
Garden Party Sticker Book, by Frederick Warne
Best for ages: 3-5Â years
In addition to more than 30 stickers with fairies, flowers and flower outfits for the fairies, the book has a retro look as it asks young readers to help fill in the story. Preschoolers can learn about the fairy world and how fairies interact with plants and gardens.
I Can Only Draw Worms, by Will Mabbitt
- Best for ages: 3-5 years
Worms are better than just lines on a page, and kids will quickly learn that their best effort is worth the work. A counting book with some fun, preschoolers can number each worm as reader parents chuckle along to the light-hearted story.
The Little Green Girl, by Lisa Anchin
- Best for ages: 3-5 years
Imagine life rooted to the ground, and such is the tale of a seedling who finds a gardener, then hears stories of the wide world. The Little Green Girl touches the life of her gardener friend as much as he helps her grow.
My Friend Earth, by Patricia MacLachlan
- Best for ages:Â 3-5
Celebrate Earth Day with this sweet book highlighting all the awesome things that come from our planet and how we can help Earth in return.
Books for early readers
Carl and the Meaning of Life, by Deborah Freedman
- Best for ages: 3-6 years
As Carl the worm seeks to find out why he turns the soil day after day, kids can ask what they do to help the Earth.
Dancing Through Fields of Color, by Elizabeth Brown
- Best for ages: 4-8 years
In addition to the well-told story of artist Helen Frankenthaler’s youth and fresh beginnings as an artist, the illustrations by Aimee Sicuro bring young art lovers into Frankenthaler’s world. With color and feeling, younger readers can fill their spring canvases.
If I was the Sunshine, by Julie Fogliano & Loren Long
- Best for ages: 4-8 years
With a gentle rhyme, this is a beautiful bedtime or early reader book. The illustrations by Long ease the reader through the story, and Fogliano’s rhythm and cadence are memorable as the sunshine is welcomed into the day. This book is available for pre-order through Amazon.
Books for older kids
Big Foot & Little Foot, The Squatchicorns, by Ellen Potter
- Best for ages: 6-9
The next in the series of Big Foot and Little Foot, this chapter book for earlier readers has the pair of best friends – Hugo and Boone – on the trail of a curse in the squatchicorns’ cavern.
Gardening with Emma, by Emma Biggs
- Best for ages: 8 and up
Written by a kid, for kids, this book is not just a garden how-to, it also serves as a plant how-to. From identifying and growing plants, to which are edible (flowers, too), this book is fun, personable and great for gardeners of all ages.
Trees, A Rooted History, by Piotr Socha & Wojciech Grajkowski
- Best for ages: 8 and up
The beautiful pictures are reminiscent of historical annals as trees are explored from seedlings and readers learn about the creatures that can destroy them. At 80 pages, the book is great for elementary-aged readers who want to dive deeper into the subject.
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