It is a little ironic that I’m writing this post on an April day buffeted by a winter storm here in Minneapolis! The view outside my window is decidedly wintery today!
But that’s the thing about spring. It’s a season of hope. Warmer days are ahead! Today I’ve got a sunny collection of books celebrating six good things spring brings!
Bloom Boom!, written and photographed by April Pulley Sayre
published in 2019 by Beach Lane Books
The first thing spring brings is flowers! April Pulley Sayre’s brilliant photo-essays for children continue with this vibrant look at spring growth — green shoots pushing up through the earth, leaves unfurling, and a riot of blossoms blooming.
Minimal text, just two word couplets, narrates the large, gorgeous photos of flowering plants in a variety of settings from deserts to woodlands. California poppies paint the countryside tangerine, while pink magnolias uncurl their elegance. Notes with a bit more information about the various flowers are included in the final pages. Lovely, for ages 2 and up.
Seeds Move!, written and illustrated by Robin Page
published in 2019 by Beach Lane Books
Spring is a time for seeds! Packets of seeds were always one of the surprises in my children’s Easter baskets. Discover the many, varied, and surprising ways seeds move around, find new places to settle down and grow, in this dynamic book.
Bold, paper collage artwork dominates each page, with just one or two means of seed locomotion per spread, and a sentence or two naming the kind of plant that acts in this way. Which seeds catapult? Which squirt? Which plunge? Full of wonder and just the right amount of intriguing new ideas for ages 4 and up.
Cooking with Bear: A Story and Recipes from the Forest, written by Deborah Hodge, illustrated by Lisa Cinar
published in 2019 by Groundwood Books
Spring brings fresh things to eat! And what an exuberant, delightful beckoning to delicious cooking with nature’s finest ingredients we find in this ravishing book!
Bear has just awoken after his long winter nap and he’s eager to check in on his friends’ well-being and get cooking! He forages in the forest, borrows favorite ingredients from his neighbors, teaches fox to cook, and whips up a banquet of yummy dishes for all his woodland friends.
You can cook the same menu as Bear with the 15 recipes in the book. All lavishly illustrated in such brave, swooshing, cheerful color and line, it’s simply irresistible! Abundant jolliness for ages 5 and up.
Max and Marla are Having a Picnic, written and illustrated by Alexandra Boiger
published in 2018 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons
Spring means picnics can begin again! Max and his pal Marla, a snowy owl, have been waiting and waiting for the first sunny day of spring and their annual celebratory picnic by the lake. Finally the day has come! Max cooks up a splendid, mouthwatering feast, and off they go!
The brave promise of that picnic, however, gets quite spoiled by some marauding food thieves, and a bit of distracted napping, and a flare of frustration. Spring suddenly feels a lot less sunny, until a forgiving Max salvages the day with his kindness and creativity. A sweet story, with Boiger’s tender, lovely watercolor illustrations, for ages 3 and up.
The Frog Book, by Steve Jenkins and Robin Page
published in 2019 by HMH Children’s Books
Spring brings frogs — out of their wintery hibernation they come, croaking and peeping loudly! What a welcome sound! There are thousands of different kinds of frogs the world over and this splendid catalog beguiles us with their astonishing variety.
Discover the tiny and large, the flashy and poisonous, the tree-lovers and clever camouflagers. Frogs with mustaches, frogs that tumble and puff up and scream! There is so much fascination packed into a small amount of text here, and such intriguing grins and bulging eyeballs peering at us from every page! Fabulous non-fiction for ages 6 and up, up, up!
Magnificent Birds, written and illustrated by Narisa Togo
first US edition published in 2018 by Candlewick
Last, but most definitely not least, spring brings birds: joy bringers, spring singers, deft wingers! This aptly named book displays the magnificence of fourteen different birds found across the globe. It is an artful masterpiece, with Narisa Togo’s stunning prints stopping us in our tracks with every page turn.
From the blushing pink of the Andean Flamingos to the iridescent flashes of the Ruby-Throated Hummingbird, the wandering aloofness of the albatross and the elegant dancing of the Red-Crowned Crane, feast your eyes on these lovelies, and read a couple of short paragraphs detailing some of their fascination.
A gorgeous offering that can be appreciated at various levels by a wide age range, from 5 to 100.
Find dozens more fresh Spring delights here!
orange marmalade 