Our Favorite Toddler Books for Spring

The first day of Spring is on March 20th this year which means that I am putting together the boy's book nook for Spring now (the beginning of March) so that we can start talking about it.

If you're new here and you're like, "what the heck is a book nook?" let me tell you about it! A book nook is a small section of books that we rotate throughout the year to coordinate with seasons, holidays, birthdays, etc. It doesn't have to be a big or fancy display, just a small space where you can focus on one specific theme. For us, this looks like two wire baskets that hang on the wall in their playroom with a small themed banner hanging above it.

I've linked everything you need to create an easy and simple book nook here. If you're in search of cute holiday or themed banners, then I encourage you to visit Hunny Prints and feel free to use my code: STEPHANIEB at checkout.

Now, let's dive in and start talking about some of my favorite Spring books for toddlers. If you want to make sure you have them all in one place, I've linked them in my LTK and you can find them HERE. If you want to have a better understanding of the storyline and rating for each book, then keep scrolling!

Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt- Not only do these books have beautiful illustrations, but they have an amazing message. This is a great book for spring, especially if you have a garden, because it walks through the process of cleaning up the garden and getting ready for new growth. It talks about what is happening above the garden (with planting, watering, bugs, sunshine, etc.) and below the garden in the dirt. This is a great way to help your kiddos understand what happens with plants and bugs in the spring!

We Are the Gardeners- This was written by the amazing Joanna Gaines and takes you on the journey of building and growing their garden. I love how this book shares the joys and struggles of building a garden by showing that certain aspects don't always pan out the way we think it will. The illustrations are stunning and the message of the garden being a group/family effort is top tier!

Big Book of Bugs- If your kiddo loves bugs, then this is the book for them! Front to back it covers all of the bugs in the world, where they live, and how to find them. I love how it breaks it down into digestible information for the kids like which bugs come out during the day, night, or certain time of the year. It covers the life cycles of bugs, how bugs hide, communicate, and even love to live in our homes- eekk!! It's a tall book that's easy to hold and has really great illustrations to hold their attention.

Little Blue Truck Springtime- We love Little Blue Truck in our house so a variation of this one is always going to be on our shelf! Little Blue Truck has a fun rhythmic flow and this one specifically has flaps that help keep your kids engaged in the story. It takes you on the journey of the truck's drive on a gorgeous spring day and introduces you to a handful of baby animals that are seen along the way.

Don't Touch that Flower- This is a great story to pair with The Leaf Thief in the fall. It revolves around the same charcters and has a somewhat similar storyline, but helps your kids to better understand the changing of the seasons. Just as spring arrives, the main character (Squirrel) finds a fresh new flower and becomes protective over it from the other animals. Squirrel's friend, Bird, shows him the beauty of flowers and how to let them grow.

The Grouchy Ladybug- If it's written by Eric Carle, then you know it's going to be good. The illustrations are always beautiful and keep the kids engaged in the story. In this one, we follow a grouchy ladybug on their journey of meeting other bugs and just being in a downright grouchy mood.

The Very Hungry Caterpillar- Another one by Eric Carle, but honestly this is one of my favorites! It's a cute story that follows a hungry caterpillar on its journey of eating many different foods until it's time to wrap up in a chrysalis and become a beautiful butterfly.

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms- This is a great option to pair with Fletcher and the Falling Leaves in the fall. Fletcher is an adorable character and has such a sweet story. In this book, he mistakes the spring blossoms for a winter snow and tries to tell all of his friends about it. Help your kids to learn about the changing season while Fletcher learns about it, too.

Everything Spring- We love National Geographic Kids books because they use real photos to talk to your kids about the topic of the book which really helps your kids to stay engaged in the book. In this book, you'll find stories about new baby animals, Spring weather, and how the world comes back to life after winter.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit- This is, in my opinion, a Spring staple! We love the story of Peter Rabbit and in case you’ve never read it before, here’s a quick recap. Peter is a little rabbit who boldly goes into Mr. McGregor’s garden against his mother’s warnings. The book follows Peter’s journey into the garden, all through the garden, and his final escape to find home. It’s a cute little book and is perfect for Spring!

From the Garden- This is a counting book revolving around a family garden. It’s a great way to talk to your kids about the benefits of maintaining your garden and how you can use the food you grow. Each page covers different fruits or veggies and encourages your kids to count the different foods you gather from the garden each day. We love this book and highly recommend, especially if you are starting a garden this year!

Birthday Books- I also want to say that we include a handful of birthday books in our Spring Shelf because our boys both have birthdays in the Spring! I’ll share about our favorite birthday books in another post, so stay tuned!

Creating a seasonal book nook has become one of my favorite things in parenthood. I love being able to switch out the books and guide our kiddos through the different seasons or holidays. They get excited to see new books on the shelves and it helps stimulate a love for reading. Rotating books is a really great way to keep your kids interested in reading and to make sure that you’re introducing them to a variety of stories versus getting stuck in the same 10-15 books. Make sure you keep the shelves easily accessible so your kids can peruse the books on their own and adding flags, banners, or other seasonal decor can also make it inviting.

You can find everything you need to make a seasonal book nook HERE and as always, reach out if you have any questions.

Now it’s your turn— go shine your light in parenthood!

Until next time,

SB

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