A Few of Our Springtime Picture Books

I don't know about you, but in my house, we have seasonal books that we rotate in and out of our bookshelves through the seasons. Even though our spring weather doesn't generally stick around until late April or sometimes even May, I like to pull out the springtime books at the beginning of March. 

After a long winter, I look forward to tucking away all of our blue spined winter books that are all about ice and snow and replace them with a multitude of mostly green spined books about the natural world around us! 

The books we have in our springtime book collection are each special to us in one way or another. Some books I discovered as an adult and fell in love with and wished I had experienced them as a child, while other books we picked up because we loved the cover image, and they turned out to be books we enjoy reading again and again. Read about a few of our favorites below.

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt & Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
Recommended ages: Birth and up

These books are a perfect addition to our spring book collection! Not only do they add color to our bookshelf, but they do best what I want our spring books to do for us! They explore the natural world though gardening and a short boating excursion though a pond. I'm loving Christopher Silas Neal's color blocked illustrations that are eye catching and intriguing. I could spend hours just looking at the artwork alone!  

The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
Recommended ages: Birth and up

My rule of thumb is that if a book can make me cry it's a winner. This book has made me cry umpteen times and it's one that my four-year-old loves for me to read to him multiple times per week. If you haven't read this one before, I won't spoil it for you, but I will say it is the simplest but most profound story of what sacrificial love looks like. 

Note: I also have feeling about how the tree needed to set some healthy boundaries... but that could be an entire post all on its own...

Look Inside Nature by Minna Lacey (Usborne)
Recommended ages: 2 years old and up

Wonderfully chock full of information that is easily digestible for littles. The book explores the seasons, different animal habitats such as, ponds, the rocky ocean shores, animals' shelters and a page dedicated to birds. The many, many flaps and eye-catching images keep children engaged and wanting to know more about how a seed grows, how caterpillars turn into butterflies, where earthworms live, and so much more! It's a visual Smorgasburg! 

Little Pea by Amy Krouse Rosenthal 
Recommended ages: Birth and up

One of the sweetest, simplest, short children's books I've read, and I absolutely adore it. I bought simply based on the cover image and I'm so glad I did. Join Little Pea as he goes about his day doing the things he loves, playing with his pea-pals, spending time with his Poppa Pea and listening to bedtime stories with Mamma Pea, but learn about the one thing Little Pea doesn't like, and it's what they have for dinner every night! You and your kids will be smitten by this adorable tale with a healthy message for us all. 

Linnea In Monet's Garden by Christina Björk
Recommended ages: 7 years old and up

This is a book blended with fiction and history that weights on the heavy side of information. The book contains many kid-friendly illustrations, actual photographs of Monet's garden, home, and impressionist artwork. This is not a book you will be getting through in one setting, but it's a great way to introduce your child to art history and the life of Claude Monet while following the story of Linnea and her love of Monet's artwork. Linnea is so fascinated with Monet's paintings of his garden that she takes a trip to France to see the actual garden that inspired so many of his paintings. While the book may be better suited for older children 1st grade and older, it can be broken up into many readings for littles who will still get a lot of out of the story! 

The Little House by Virginia Lee Burton
Recommended ages: 2-3 years old and up

If you haven't noticed by now, we like a lot of sweet stories in my family, and this is yet another one! This little house was never to be bought or sold, and although she falls into disrepair, after many years she is restored by a descendant of the man who built her.

The Frog and Toad Treasury by Arnold Lobel
Recommended age: Birth and up

Great for any time of the year but with stories related to ice cream, the spring season, and just Frog and Toad in general, we consider this a spring book in our house. 

Toad sure knows what my ideal day looks like!

Ferdinand by Munro Leaf 
Recommended age: Birth and up

Sometimes we also read this in Spanish! Ferdinand is a story of a gentle bull who's different than the other bulls. Instead of wanting to fight, he wants to sit under his favorite tree and smell the flowers. 

There are many other books included in our Springtime Picture Book collection, but the post would be incredibly long if I included images and a quick review of each and every one of them. 

What are some of your favorite picture books for spring?

Note: While I've previously included links to purchase the books I mention on Amazon, I've decided that Bookshop.org is a site I would rather use. Instead of supporting an already successful billion-dollar company, Bookshop.org helps to support local bookstores of your choice. Learn more about how it all works here.