13 Perfect Picture Books About Spring

Once the last thaw is in the rearview, it’s time to scatter seeds…and then add Joanna Gaines’ first picture book to your next storytime! In a lively narrative underscored by captivating watercolor art, Gaines reveals the straightforward process she and her family have undertaken to maintain a successful backyard garden. Her humorous, unassuming style is as irresistible in narrative form as it is on TV, and provides the perfect welcome to spring!

This cheerful follow-up to Winter is Here and In the Middle of Fall is a memorable celebration of these precious few months of renewal and rebirth: Spring! Before this joyful season arrives, we must meander through brown sticks, cloudy skies, and crunchy grass or snow underfoot. If we are patient, however, these same limbs will begin to sprout and flower, the skies will gradually fill up with new life, and we can dig our toes into squishy grass and puddles! Bring on Spring at your next storytime—this sturdy board book is ideal for readers at all stages!

This charming fable immediately introduces us to a Mud Fairy named Bloom, who possesses the extraordinary ability to transform weeds into flowers and sand into glass. She’s lithe and powerful, but she leaves dirt in her wake, which is an affront to the delicate citizens of her glass kingdom who cannot abide a mess. Underappreciated and disappointed, Bloom goes into seclusion, and it will take another extraordinary being to convince her to save the kingdom. Charmingly subversive, this layered narrative is an important read for all ages.

Like all bunnies, Rabbit loves a good carrot. But, as we all know, it’s possible to have too munch of a good thing. Soon enough, Rabbit finds himself caught in the cross-hares, as it were, with a considerable Carrot Problem on his hands. Luckily, he has a slew of forest friends ready to pitch in, and offer space for his veggie overflow. Hudson’s touching tale of friendship and sharing offers a warm welcome to spring.

When it’s winter in Moominvalley, the Moomins sleep peacefully awaiting spring. But this year their Long Winter Sleep gets interrupted when Moomintroll is startled by a mysterious noise that he simply can’t resist investigating. Did spring arrive early this year?

In this enchanting, interactive tale, McKellar has cleverly devised a way to weave simple math concepts into a fairy tale framework (Don’t be jealous, parents! Enjoy!). Flowers spontaneously, magically burst into butterflies on every page, and as they do, little readers are invited to group them into tens—a basic building block of arithmetic. The result is a story that is engaging and exuberantly instructive—can you think of a better combination for your next storytime?

Blue bunnies and yellow birds are the only creatures inhabiting the land of This and That. But then one day a curious green egg hatches, and a funny-looking animal that’s neither bunny nor bird pops out: Neither! After searching for a place to fit in, Neither finally makes safe passage into the Land of All, and he’s delighted to see animals of all shapes and sizes surrounding him—it’s PERFECT! This fable tells a hopeful story, bringing diversity and empathy to the forefront—you will definitely want to add it to your springtime shelf!

Gardens aren’t just for the countryside! While out exploring his urban neighborhood, a young boy named Liam comes upon a small patch of green. So small, in fact, that most would miss it, seeing only the concrete and abandoned railroad tracks nearby. But Peter notices the tiny plants trying to survive and takes it upon himself to help them along. He knows nothing about gardening, but despite his initial lack of skill, the plants begin to grow and spread. It takes time, but what starts out as a few struggling plants becomes an urban renewal project that brings not only beauty, but a sense of community.

In a celebration of the outdoors both in our own backyard and beyond, We Planted A Tree journeys through the seasons. By exploring a tree’s growth in communities in Brooklyn, Tokyo, and the African savanna, the reader gets a sense of global community and oneness. It’s a big wide world, but something as simple as a tree is a commonality we can share.

This gently lyrical book loosely follows a family’s activities, from morning to night. The text’s main focus, though, is to draw the reader’s attention to the simple pleasures the world has to offer. And while the text itself is a joy to listen to, it’s the kind of book where you want to sit and fully enjoy all the little (and sometimes surprising) details included in the beautiful illustrations.

This is the true story of Wangari Maathai, a Kenyan environmentalist and winner of the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize. Mama Miti, as she was called, believed that many of Kenya’s problems could be solved by the simple planting of trees. In teaching the local village women this simple task, Mama Miti started a movement that combatted deforestation, transformed the landscape, and gained worldwide attention.

For many readers, pouring a glass of water is as simple as turning on a faucet. It’s a resource we take for granted. In this book, published by the National Geographic Society, photographer Barbara Kerley explores the ways water is accessed and used all around the world. The text is brief, but provides statistics on the way water is accessed and conserved. A good ecological conversation starter.

Along with Over and Under the Snow, and Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt, Messner has created a set of books that explores not only the world we see every day, but the communities that exist beyond our normal exploration. The organisms explored are mostly those familiar to young readers, though there may be some surprises. Easy to read aloud, and full of factual information both within the main text and in an author’s note at the back of each book, these Earth Day picks are winners for both home and classroom libraries.