It’s finally spring and we are SO ready for all the gardening, warm weather sports, playdates, cookouts and more! I love that I can now open the window to air out the house every afternoon. And this weekend we’re headed to the farmer’s market for the first time since August!
When the seasons change, I love to change out the books in the kids’ shelves for seasonally-matched reads. We always have our favorites around–Richard Scarry books and Daniel Tiger among others–and I also like preparing the kids for upcoming activities by reading, too.
Here are a dozen of our favorite spring books for toddlers, including classics and some modern favorites. If you’re headed into fall/winter in your neck of the woods, check out my 12 wintry books to read with little kids post for some inspo 🙂
Spring Books for Toddlers
- Up in the Garden & Down in the Dirt. A cute story about a girl and her grandmother gardening through the seasons. A great intro to garden ecology for little kids!
- Big Red Barn. A classic (which usually bore my kids) but they love this one. Meet all the animals on the farm and learn what they do during the day and at night.
- Barnyard Dance! This was one of my sister and I’s favorite books as kids! It’s a silly rhyme about farm animals dancing together.
- Annie & The Wild Animals. When Annie’s cat goes missing, she tries to attract other wild animals from the woods to be her pet. A short, cute story that ends with a spring surprise.
- Who’s Hiding in the Woods? This is a pop-up book that shows different animals living in the woods in each season and at night. It’s great for younger toddlers!
- Look What I Found in the Woods. Search for animals with a group of young friends and learn about woodland ecology. This is a longer book that’s better for older toddlers.
- A Tree is Home. Learn about the animals who live in an oak tree and how their lives change throughout the year. A human family moves into a house nearby the oak tree, too.
- A First Book of Nature. I love beautiful books and this is one of them. It’s a collection of short poems for each season with the most gorgeous illustrations.
- Slow Down in the Park. My mom purchased this book for the kids and it’s so cute! I like the urban/suburban setting as that’s where most of us live these days. There’s still plenty going outside in cities and suburbs, too.
- Moomin and The Spring Surprise. My sister got us hooked on Moomin, the Finnish cartoon/book character, when she gave the kids each a book for Christmas. They are seasonal, outdoorsy stories with good lessons.
- Daniel Tiger Moving to the Neighborhood. Warm weather means moving season here, and we’re hoping to get some new neighbors soon! This is a great story about welcoming others to a new neighborhood (or helping a child manage fears about moving).
- Daniel Learns to Swim. One of my kids is taking swim lessons to prepare for all of our pool time this summer. Trying new things can be scary, and I love Daniel Tiger books for preparing for all kinds of new experiences–the dentist, restaurant, and swimming stories are among my favorites.
What Books Are on Your Shelf?
We’re always on the lookout for new favorites! Except Dr. Suess. Never Dr. Suess. I’m not sure why but even as a kid, I absolutely hated his books… anyone else?
xx Claire
