Looking for the best children’s books about spring? These picture books on spring will be engaging for your students! Books with lesson plans and activities aligned to the Common Core linked for your preschool, Kindergarten, 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th grade students. Kid’s books about spring, new beginnings, growth, flowers, and more for your elementary school students. Your students will delight in these classic and brand new books!
If you’re a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust Community, you already have access to EVERY lesson plan and activity for these books! Just click on the Lesson Plans button in the menu!
Mel Fell by Corey R. Tabor
Mel Fell is a hilarious book that kids are sure to love. A baby bird decides one day that she is going to fly! Despite her siblings’ misgivings and her neighbors’ attempts to stop her, Mel falls…straight down. She falls and falls until she hits the water and catches her first fish. Then, she flies! Mel, it turns out, is a kingfisher. She’s supposed to fall… into the water! Corey R. Tabor’s story is a joy, and his illustrations add a layer of comedy that Caldecott committees eat up. An excellent story about bravery and confidence and discovering your true purpose in life!
The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
One boy’s quest for a greener world… one garden at a time.
While out exploring one day, a little boy named Liam discovers a struggling garden and decides to take care of it. As time passes, the garden spreads throughout the dark, gray city, transforming it into a lush, green world.
This is an enchanting tale with environmental themes and breathtaking illustrations that become more vibrant as the garden blooms. Red-headed Liam can also be spotted on every page, adding a clever seek-and-find element to this captivating picture book.
Sugarbush Spring by Marsha Wilson Chall
In the month of the Maple Sugar Moon in early spring, the snow’s too wet for angel making, icicles rain from Grandpa’s porch roof, and something is stirring in the woods. It’s sugarbush spring–time to tap the trees, prepare the bottles, then gather round the cook fire to eat chicken and dumplings, roast marshmallows, and tell stories while the cold sap heats through, thickens, and boils to make syrup.
The Boy Who Drew Birds by Jacqueline Davies
This fascinating picture book biography from beloved author of the Lemonade War series Jacqueline Davies and Caldecott honor–winning illustrator Melissa Sweet chronicles the life of scientist John James Audubon, who pioneered a technique essential to our understanding of birds thanks to his lifelong love for the species. If there was one thing James loved to do more than anything else, it was to be in the great outdoors watching his beloved feathered friends. In the fall of 1804, he was determined to find out if the birds nesting near his Pennsylvania home would really return the following spring. Through careful observation, James laid the foundation for all that we know about migration patterns today. Capturing the early passion of this bird-obsessed young man as well as the meticulous study and scientific methods behind his research, this lively, gorgeously illustrated biography will leave young readers listening intently for the call of birds large and small near their own home.
Get the lesson plan and activities for The Boy Who Drew Birds HERE
City Green by Dyanne DiSalvo-Ryan
Right in the middle of Marcy’s city block is a vacant lot, littered and forlorn. Sometimes just looking at it makes Marcy feel sad. Then one spring, Marcy has a wonderful idea: Instead of a useless lot, why not a green and growing space for everyone to enjoy?
Get the lesson plan and activities for City Green HERE
Outside In by Deborah Underwood
Outside is waiting, the most patient playmate of all. The most generous friend. The most miraculous inventor. This thought-provoking picture book poetically underscores our powerful and enduring connection with nature, not so easily obscured by lives spent indoors. A great book for adding in poetry to your classroom.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Outside In HERE
You get a free lesson and activities for Outside In here:
Inside Outside by Lizi Boyd
What is happening outside today? Peek through the window to find out. What is happening inside? Peek again! Whimsical die-cuts throughout lead to charming and surprising reveals with every turn of the page. Filled with fun details (can you find the two mice playing throughout?), this deceptively simple book is one readers will visit again and again.
Rose’s Garden by Peter Reynolds
A sweet fable dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy that celebrates the spirit of community, the beauty of nature, and the power of faith and imagination. A sweet fable dedicated to Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy that celebrates the spirit of community, the beauty of nature, and the power of faith and imagination — After traveling the world in her fantastic teapot, Rose is ready to put down roots. She sets about planting flower seeds in a neglected corner of a bustling city. And then she waits — through rain and cold and snow. Rose waits, never doubting that the garden she envisions will one day come to be. With a simple narration and lovely, fanciful illustrations, this luminous picture book resonates with readers of all ages. Author-illustrator Peter H. Reynolds dedicates it to the matriarch of the Kennedy family — herself the namesake of the Rose Kennedy Greenway, a series of gardens, plazas, and tree-lined promenades.
Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
Alice made a promise to make the world a more beautiful place, then a seed of an idea is planted and blossoms into a beautiful plan. Barbara Cooney’s story of Alice Rumphius, who longed to travel the world, live in a house by the sea, and do something to make the world more beautiful, has a timeless quality that resonates with each new generation. The countless lupines that bloom along the coast of Maine are the legacy of the real Miss Rumphius, the Lupine Lady, who scattered lupine seeds everywhere she went. Miss Rumphius received the American Book Award in the year of publication.
Honeybee by Candace Fleming
What could be a better book about spring than a book about bees? A tiny honeybee emerges through the wax cap of her cell. Driven to protect and take care of her hive, she cleans the nursery and feeds the larvae and the queen. But is she strong enough to fly? Not yet! Apis builds wax comb to store honey, and transfers pollen from other bees into the storage. She defends the hive from invaders. And finally, she begins her new life as an adventurer. The confining walls of the hive fall away as Apis takes to the air, finally free, in a brilliant double-gatefold illustration where the clear blue sky is full of promise– and the wings of dozens of honeybees, heading out in search of nectar to bring back to the hive.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Honeybee HERE
Leo the Late Bloomer by Robert Kraus
Leo isn’t reading, or writing, or drawing, or even speaking, and his father is concerned. But Leo’s mother isn’t. She knows her son will do all those things, and more, when he’s ready.
Hike by Pete Oswald
Take to the trails for a celebration of nature — and a day spent with dad.
In the cool and quiet early light of morning, a father and child wake up. Today they’re going on a hike. Follow the duo into the mountains as they witness the magic of the wilderness, overcome challenges, and play a small role in the survival of the forest. By the time they return home, they feel alive — and closer than ever — as they document their hike and take their place in family history. In detail-rich panels and textured panoramas, Pete Oswald perfectly paces this nearly wordless adventure, allowing readers to pause for subtle wonders and marvel at the views. A touching tribute to the bond between father and child, with resonant themes for Earth Day, Hike is a breath of fresh air.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Hike HERE
Sector 7 by David Wiesner
A boy goes on a field trip to the Empire State Building with his class. While he’s at the top, he meets a friendly cloud who takes him to the Sector 7 Cloud Dispatch Center where he meets many more clouds. The boy helps the clouds but eventually must return. A great story to springboard into science subjects such as wind and weather and cloud formations.
Get the lesson plan and activities for Sector 7 HERE
Best Children’s Books About Spring
What are some of your favorite children’s books for spring? Are there any must read picture books about spring that I left out? Let me know in the comments, and I’ll add it!
If you’re a member of the Picture Book Brain Trust Community, you already have access to EVERY lesson plan and activity for these books! Just click on the Lesson Plans button in the menu!
Don’t miss out! You can get a free lesson and activities for one of my favorite children’s books about spring, Outside In, here:
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