Picture Books, Reading, Seasonal

15 Spring Picture Books Your Students Will Love

Spring is in the air! It is filled with new growth, fresh colors, baby animals and a renewed sense of life. It’s one of my favorite seasons! Add some spring to your lesson plans with these spring picture books. Your students will love learning more about spring through these books.

1. Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

As days stretch longer, animals creep out from their warm dens, and green begins to grow again, everyone knows―spring is on its way! In Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring, by Kenard Pak, join a boy and his dog as they explore nature and take a stroll through the countryside, greeting all the signs of the coming season. In a series of conversations with everything from the melting brook to chirping birds, they say goodbye to winter and welcome the lushness of spring.

2. When Spring Comes

There’s a good chance your students already love the stories by author Kevin Henkes. This spring picture book will be no excpetion. Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it—and you can read it! Make sure that When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes is on your list of must-read spring picture books.

3. And Then It's Spring

It’s all about the anticipation of spring in this book – And Then It’s Spring by Julie Fogliano. Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they’ve had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.

4. Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt

This spring take an adventure into the unseen world of the garden. Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner will get your kids thinking about the ins and outs of nature during the spring. Up in the garden, the world is full of green—leaves and sprouts, growing vegetables, ripening fruit. But down in the dirt there is a busy world of earthworms digging, snakes hunting, skunks burrowing, and all the other animals that make a garden their home. In this exuberant and lyrical book, discover the wonders that lie hidden between stalks, under the shade of leaves…and down in the dirt.

5. Worm Weather

Spring often brings changes in the weather. Challenge your kids to think about weather in a different way with Worm Weather by Jean Taft. Drip,drop, skip and hop. Splish, splash, sidewalk dash! It’s worm weather! Join in the rainy-day fun, as kids splash through the puddles, affecting another weather enthusiast, a nearby worm. An imaginative and playful story, readers will love seeing the worm delight in the weather just as much as the kids.

6. Spring is Here: A Bear and Mole Story

Excitedly he taps on the window and knocks on the door– he even tries playing a trumpet to wake his friend so they can celebrate together. But Bear keeps snoozing. But Mole is determined, so he milks and gathers and bakes a special springtime surprise for his friend– the perfect way to wake up! A perfect read-aloud, full of simple sound-words and lots of repetition, Spring is Here by Will Hillenbrand, is ideal to share with young readers to celebrate the changing of the seasons. Cozy mixed-media illustrations of big, fuzzy, dozing bear and his eager mole friend add detail and humor to the tale.

7. The Smell of Spring

Join April, a blind girl, in this charming rhyming picture book as she discovers the wonderful—and not-so-wonderful—smells of spring and answers questions like, “Does rain really have a smell?” The Smell of Spring shows children how we experience the world around us through the sense of smell. Kids will enjoy her many interesting pets and have fun with the activities at the end using the sense of smell. A wonderful spring picture book to get your kids thinking of spring in a new way. Make sure to add The Smell of Spring by Mary Ann Hake to your list of spring picture books.

8. Abracadabra, it's Spring

Abracadabra, it’s Spring by Anne Sibley O’Brien, is a fun and whimsical look at the changing from seasons. Sun shines on a patch of snow. Hocus pocus! Where did it go? Winter turns to spring in this lyrical book that celebrates the magic of nature and the changing seasons. Eleven gatefolds open to re-create the excitement and surprise of spring’s arrival, revealing what happens when snow melts, trees bud, flowers bloom, birds arrive, and eggs and cocoons hatch. Finally, it’s warm enough to pack away winter clothes and go out and play!

9. Busy Spring: Nature Wakes Up

Spring is the season that draws us to nature. In Busy Spring: Nature Wakes Up by Sean Taylor, we dive into the new life that is ushered in with the season. In this uplifting picture book about spring, follow two children and their father through their backyard as they discover all the different ways nature wakes up from its long winter sleep. Spot the busy creatures and plants as the tale unfolds, then learn about how each responds to the increasing daylight and warmth that usher in the season.

10. Singing in the Rain

Chances are you won’t be able to make it through this book without singing. I’m singing in the rain, just singing in the rain, Oh, what a glorious feeling! Spring calls in this classic Broadway number, brought to life in a beautiful picture book―perfect for sharing! Jump in puddles, raise umbrellas, and dance with joy through the pages of this visual story. With colorful, springy scenes and the familiar lyrics, this is a beautiful, feel-good read-aloud. Make sure to add Singing in the Rain by Tim Hopgood to your spring plans.

11. Spring for Sophie

Your students will love joining Sophie as she eagerly waits for spring. In Spring for Sophie by Yael Werber, Sophie listens and watches for the signs of spring. Day after day, the same snow is frozen outside her window and the skies above are as gray as the day before. And then Sophie thinks will spring ever come and how will I know it is here?

12. Little Blue Truck's Springtime

Beep! Beep! Little Blue Truck is out for a ride with his good friend Toad. The sun is shining and the flowers are blooming—it’s a beautiful spring day! Who will they see along the way? Open the flaps to meet all of the sweet baby animals just born on the farm. Peep! Peep! This lift the flap book is a great way to work on making predictions or inferencing with your young students. Add Little Blue Truck’s Springtime by Alice Schertle to your spring reading lessons.

13. Garden Time

Garden Time by Jill McDonald is a non-fiction book designed to share the science of the garden in an easy to understand way. Kids will learn how plants grow and how food makes its way from the garden to the plate. Each page offers helpful prompts for engaging the young reader. It’s a perfect way to bring science and nature into the busy world of your classroom where learning never stops.

14. An Old Red Spring

An Old Red Spring by Marnie Reynolds-Bourque is a fun twist on all that spring brings. Old Red’s days are filled with chores, joy rides with her family, and happiness. After a long winter, tulip season arrives making Old Red’s days busy! Follow along through colorful illustrations showing Old Red helping once again! Besides tulip season illustrations, this latest book also touches on how to prepare a tractor for the busy farm season, and how tractors run.

15. Planting a Rainbow

Spring and flowers go hand in hand. Your students will love Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. In this perennial classic with sturdy board book pages by Caldecott Honor–winning author Lois Ehlert, little ones learn the colors of the rainbow as they watch a plants grow in a beautifully vibrant garden. Through brilliant, textured cut paper collages, the story follows the progress of a mother and daughter in their backyard as they plant bulbs, seeds, and seedlings and nurture their growth into flowers. Bold, spare text and dazzling illustrations will inspire readers to take a closer look at the natural world and maybe even start a garden of their own.

Save these Spring Books for Kids

Don’t forget to save this list of Spring picture books for kids for later! Pin this post to your favorite children’s book or Springtime board on Pinterest so you can easily find it whenever you need it.

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Maria Gavin

Maria is a former kindergarten and first grade teacher, with 13 years of teaching experience. Her love and passion for all things early childhood is now fulfilled as a mom to two amazing kids. She loves sharing practical and creative tips and ideas that are perfect for young learners – in the classroom or at home!

Hi, I'm Maria.

I’m a former kindergarten teacher turned work-from-home mom. I still love sharing ideas and resources to make teaching easier, so you can focus on what really matters in the classroom. When I’m not working on the blog, you’ll find me chasing kids around the house with a cold cup of coffee in my hand (some things never change even once you’re out of the classroom!)

15 Spring Picture Books Your Students Will Love

1. Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring

2. When Spring Comes

3. And Then It's Spring

4. Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt

5. Worm Weather

6. Spring is Here: A Bear and Mole Story

7. The Smell of Spring

8. Abracadabra, it's Spring

9. Busy Spring: Nature Wakes Up

10. Singing in the Rain

11. Spring for Sophie

12. Little Blue Truck's Springtime

13. Garden Time

14. An Old Red Spring

15. Planting a Rainbow

Save these Spring Books for Kids

Share This Post:

Maria Gavin

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Hi, I'm Maria.

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