Spring Has Sprung

May 3, 2017 | Kids Books | 0 comments

Kids Books About Spring

Spring has finally made its appearance here in Toronto and I couldn’t be happier.  Every season has their charms but to me, spring is the BEST.  Cherry blossoms (Sigh, I miss my Vancouver blossoms), the bright yellow of forsythia, birdsong, tulips & daffodils, super adorable clothes (for me). LOVE IT!

We were visiting one of my favourite places to take kids here in Toronto, Riverdale Farm to see all the new baby animals and as we rounded a bend I said (or screamed):  George, isn’t spring magical?!  It’s because their garden looked like this:

An older guy heard me and laughed.  Yes, it is pretty magical, he said.

Here are my reads to get us into the season:

When Spring Comes 

by Kevin Henkes with illustrations by Laura Dronzek

In this book, Henkes shows us what it looks like right before spring arrives: brown grass, black trees that look like sticks against the sky, and leftover mounds of snow.  But if we wait all those things turn into the wonder of spring:  green grass and bright flowers, leaves and blossoms, and baby birds and kittens.

What did we learn?

We learned about patience and that spring can come and go and come and go (who loves those  spring snow storms?

Why I Love It:

I really love anything by Kevin Henkes – the text is always sweet & simple and the illustrations are bright and depict an ideal spring.  I love his alliterative lists:  worms, wings, wind and wheels or buds, bees, boots and bubbles.  George and I had fun making our own list of what we can do in the spring.

and then it’s spring

by Julie Fogliano with pictures by Erin E. Stead

The first page depicts exactly what it looks like here in Canada on the eve of spring: brown brown brown. The whole book captures just what it feels like to wait with growing anticipation for the seeds to sprout, the flowers to blossom, and the grass to turn green.

A little boy and his dog plants seeds and then wait. And wait some more. And worry that the seeds will never grow. He only knows spring is near by the greenish hum he can hear when he puts his ear to the ground. After much waiting, he wakes up one day to find that spring has suddenly arrived and the world is now green.

What did we learn?

That seeds make things grow (and rain and sun) – George recently planted grass seeds at nursery school so was able to make the connection to the boy in the story. He was really proud of himself. And that we have to be patient.

Why I love it:

It captures the way March feels.

What Will Hatch? 

By Jennifer Ward with pictures by Susie Ghahremani

This is a simple read about what babies hatch out of eggs. Each spread has an illustration of an environment like a pond or tree branch with a cut out of an egg your little reader can feel.  The next spread will reveal what sort of animal hatched from that egg:  penguin, platypus, robin and even a teeny tiny tadpole (you have to feel around for that egg).

What did we learn?

Which animals are hatched from eggs.

Why I love it:

An interactive read (the child feeling the egg) with simple, clean illustrations.

Abracadabra, It’s Spring! 

by Anne Sibley O’Brien with pictures by Susan Gal

I either saw this book on an instagram post or read about it somewhere, in any case, it wasn’t available at the library so I ordered it and am so glad I did!  It’s a fun read that will be called from our bookshelf over and over again.  Each page is a different magic word/spell that makes spring come and includes a fold out (which George LOVES) of what the spell has done.  Like “Hocus Pocus” to reveal green grass from melted snow.  All the spells are funny words and each fold-out depicts another lovely aspect of spring.

What did we learn?

All about what happens when winter turns into spring.

Why I love it:

Silly words that are difficult but fun to say and gorgeous illustrations.  Spring really does feel like magic!

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms 

by Julia Rawlinson with pictures by Tiphanie Beeke

This is the second in Rawlinson’s Fletcher series, in between his fall leaves and Christmas adventures.  Fletcher is a little fox enjoying the first signs of spring but can’t believe his eyes when he sees it is snowing in the forest.  He rushes to warn the animals of the forest that they have left their winter homes too soon.  He gathers a gang of birds, a hedgehog, a squirrel and several others to see the snow when they all start laughing.  It isn’t snowing in the forest after all:  the blossoms are falling from the trees!  And now all the animals have fun playing and gathering in the soft petals.

What did we learn?

What all the different animals do in the wintertime.

Why I Love it?

Stunningly illustrated and a sweet story about spring.

Mouse’s First Spring 

by Lauren Thompson with pictures by Buket Erdogan

I enjoy all of Thompson’s series about a Mouse and his adventures in the different seasons (and holidays like Christmas and Halloween).  In this one, he explores a spring day with his mum and discovers something feathery and plump – a bird!, or soft and new petals – a flower!, and other things that we see in the spring.

What did we learn?

Would you believe . . .  about spring?

Why I love it:

I find Thompson a great toddler/preschool author because she writes the way kids learn.  How Mouse discovers spring through textures, colours and sounds is the same way kids discover new things.  They are fascinated by all aspects of a frog for example.  Thompson does that well in this series and it helps me make a list of the things I need to do with the kids to have fun in the spring.

Happy Reading,

Curious in Wonderland

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