From buds on trees to sprouting seeds and baby animals, there’s always something new to discover when winter melts away and new life begins to blossom. Celebrate spring with this delightful collection of picture books.
Download our free library list to take with you on your next visit to the library.
The Happy Day
by Ruth Krauss
After a long winter, spring arrives and all the animals know it! Bears and mice and rabbits and squirrels all emerge from their underground hideaways to celebrate the very first scent of spring—a single yellow blossom bursting up through the snow.
A Seed Is Sleepy
by Dianna Hutts Aston
A whole book about something as ordinary as a seed? Well, you’re about to discover that there is no such thing as an ordinary seed! There are millions of seed varieties to be studied and each one is different from all the others—and they’re all amazing!
Spring: An Alphabet Acrostic
by Steven Schnur
For budding poetry lovers, this is the best spring picture book! In Steve Schnur’s creative collection of spring poems, every letter of the alphabet has its own acrostic poem. And with striking hand-colored linocut illustrations, these poems are sure to please—from A to Z!
Who Likes Rain?
by Wong Herbert Yee
A girl watches the spring rain pitter-pat against the window and wonders Who Likes Rain? But then she puts on boots and a raincoat and sets out to find the answer. And as she explores the wet world outside, she discovers lots of reasons to like the rain!
First the Egg
by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
The age-old question is back—which came first, the chicken or the egg? While you may not find the much sought after answer in this book, you will find a creative tale of beginnings and endings told with vividly painted illustrations and cleverly placed cutouts.
Jack’s Garden
by Henry Cole
It’s “The House that Jack Built” with a garden-y twist! Read along as Jack plants seeds, and then watch as the rain helps his seedlings sprout. Learn the names of plants, beetles, flowers, and birds—but most of all, let Jack’s Garden help you find your own green thumb!
Ten Seeds
by Ruth Brown
What happens when you plant ten seeds? Well, they might all grow—but maybe they won’t! In this delightful counting book, you’ll discover that when ants, mice, and playful puppies roam the garden, you never know how many seeds will eventually become plants.
A Nest Is Noisy
by Dianna Hutts Aston
Have you ever watched a bird gather twigs to build her nest? In A Nest Is Noisy, you’ll discover that there is much more to a nest than just a few twigs. Nests can be made out of many materials and by many creatures—and this book explores them all!
Mud
by Mary Lyn Ray
Mud—gooey, gloppy, mucky mud. Some may consider it a nuisance, but for a child who happens upon a patch of mud after the first spring thaw, it’s a perfect playground. Mud isn’t something to be avoided—it should be plunged into and celebrated with happy abandon!
Butterfly Park
by Elly MacKay
When a butterfly-loving little girl moves to a new town with her parents, she’s excited to discover that her new house is right next to Butterfly Park. But wait…Butterfly Park has no butterflies! How can the girl and her friends bring butterflies to the park?
Planting a Rainbow
by Lois Ehlert
With just a few seed packets and seedlings, a mother and child fill their garden with all the colors of the rainbow. Introducing readers to the colorful world of flower gardening, Planting a Rainbow might even inspire your young reader to grow a rainbow!
When Spring Comes
by Kevin Henkes
How do you know when spring is finally here? This picture book encourages readers to wait and watch for all the ways spring announces its arrival. From the slow blossoming of trees to the first green shoots pushing up through the dirt, when spring comes, you’ll know it!
And Then It’s Spring
by Julie Fogliano
It’s the very beginning of spring and a young boy and his dog head outside to plant a garden. They wait and they watch, but everything is still brown. The rain comes, but they still can’t see any green in the garden. When will spring come and finally turn the brown to green?
Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms
by Julia Rawlinson
Fletcher the Fox has a perplexing problem. Although he thought spring had already arrived, it has started to snow down in the orchard! Fletcher hurries to warn all the other animals that winter is on its way back … but could there be another explanation for the unexpected “snow” shower?
Worm Weather
by Jean Taft
When spring comes and the rain begins to fall, there’s lots of fun to be had. After all, rain brings worms, and worm weather is the best weather. It’s perfect for outdoor fun, like splashing in puddles, and indoor fun, like a cozy pizza party. What will you do when worm weather comes?
Ava’s Poppy
by Marcus Pfister
Ava loves walking in the field near her house, but her walks become even more exciting when Ava discovers a beautiful red poppy growing all alone in the field! She visits the poppy every day, but when it begins to wither and wilt, is it the end of Ava’s poppy?
Tap the Magic Tree
by Christie Matheson
If you could, would you coax a bare brown tree to burst back to life again? In Tap the Magic Tree, you will turn the words into motion, enticing the tree along its journey from winter to spring, from spring to summer, through fall and winter, and then back to spring again.
Hank Finds an Egg
by Rebecca Dudley
In this delightful wordless picture book, Hank finds an egg resting on the forest floor. Hank is determined to return the egg to the safety of its home, but along the way he discovers something even better. Because when he found an egg, Hank also found a friend!
Pick, Pull, Snap!
Where Once a Flower Bloomed
by Lola M. Schaefer
There’s a garden waiting to be harvested in this delightful interactive picture book! It’s a gardening how-to, a botany lesson, and a walk through the seasons, all in one. Large flaps invite children to pick, pull, and snap their way from seed to flower to fruit.
Born in the Wild:
Baby Mammals and Their Parents
by Lita Judge
It’s spring, and for many animals that means time for new babies to be born! In Lita Judge’s Born in the Wild, your young reader will become acquainted with lots of animal babies and their mamas. Get ready to oooh and awww with every single page turn!
Would you like to read some of my favorite Spring picture books with your children? Download our Spring Picture Books Library List.
Looking for MORE books? You can find more great library lists here!
Do you have a favorite Spring picture book about kindness? Please share it in the comments and I’ll add it to our Readers’ Picks list!
Brenda P
says:We absolutely love Tap the Magic Tree and just borrowed a few off this list from the library based on recommendations. We can’t wait to read Mud, Worm Weather, Butterfly Park, and A Nest is Noisy!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI hope you have lots and lots of enjoyment from these books, Brenda!
Kayla
says:Thank you so much for these recommendations! You are such a blessing!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re so welcome, Kayla!
Dorinda
says:My kids absolutely love a seed is sleepy! I love these book list. It makes it so easy for me to print it off and take it to the library.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceDorinad,
A Seed is Sleepy is such a wonderful book. I’m glad this list is helpful for your spring reading!
Elly
says:I don’t know if it’s about kindness per-se, but “Mama Built a Little Nest” is a really interesting combination of engaging poetry and real information about how different mama birds build nests for their babies. We’ve really been enjoying it lately.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceElly,
I’ve not seen Mama Built a Little Nest before, but now I want to go get it for my little on! It looks wonderful, and I love the rhyming facts. Thank you for the recommendation!
Mindy Trujillo
says:Miss Maple’s Seeds by Eliza Wheeler
Robin
says: Customer ServiceThank you for the recommendation, Mindy!
Christi
says:Miss Rumphius! A forever favorite in our family. Imagine their dad as he fought those ‘nasty weeds’ … the wild flowers from the seeds my children scattered about the lawn without anyone noticing…🤭
Robin
says: Customer ServiceChristi,
I’ve heard weeds defined as any plant not wanted where it is at. So, if your children wanted wild flowers in your lawn, then they aren’t weeds!
Taylor
says:Thanks for all of the suggestions!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, Taylor!
Kelly
says:I love book lists! Thanks for some great suggestions. :-)
Pam
says:Thanks for the suggestions! Some of these are new to us!
syeda
says:Loving the spring book list and looking forward to reading them with my kids. The two book that we have read and love from the list are,”Seed is Sleepy” and “A nest is Noisy” by Dianna Hutts Aston.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThose two are great ones to love, Syeda. I hope you can find more to love in this list as well.
Brittany
says:Excited to jump in this reading program! :)
Amanda Whitley
says:i see a bunch i know my son would like.
Desira
says:New books are always great!
Aimee
says:Thanks!
Julie
says:What a great list! Thanks!!
Carrie
says:This is a great list … I haven’t even heard of some of these!
Amanda
says:We love picture books in our house! We’ll check these spring ones out! Thanks!
Amanda
says:Love the spring book list!
Nicole
says:Spring is our favorite time of year and this selection of books are the perfect way to kickstart some amazing spring themed activities!
Charlotte M.
says:I’ve heard great things about All About Reading so I’m really looking forward to trying it & trying these books! :)
Estelle Vanderheide
says:Love these book options!
Mindy
says:Great list! Thanks. We love new book ideas.
Erin
says:Thanks for sharing these! I can’t wait to get back to the library to check some out.
Sherry
says:For Speing, I love the nature books by Kate Messner. Over and under the pond. And Up in the garden and Down in the dirt. The first in the series is about hibernation called Over and under the snow.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceThank you for the recommendations, Sherry! They look great.
Tiffany
says:What an awesome list of books. We will have to check them out.
Devona Dawkins
says:All of my kids love books! My youngest will love these books as she is learning to read!
Gemma
says:Such lovely picture books to share with little ones.
Rachael
says:I love adding new picture books to our family’s reading list. It is so helpful to have a list in hand to focus our library search as we look for good, quality books. Thanks for compiling the list!
Deborah
says:This is a great list! Many new titles for us to check out.
Kim
says:These would be great for my boys to write stories. They use picture books and write their own stories from the pictures.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceKim,
Wordless picture books are wonderful for the type of writing activity you described. And we just so happen to have a blog post full of Wonderful Wordless Picture Books.