Here are some of our favorite books for a spring theme, using non-holiday spring books! If you live in the Southern Hemisphere, check out our favorite books for a fall theme and favorite books for an autumn theme (focusing on favorite books for a general fall theme but ones that are perfect for our fall scavenger hunt unit). Favorite books for an autumn theme especially focuses on autumn leaves and general autumn themes that work well in both Europe (where the term “autumn” is used more than “fall”) and North America.
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Just choose books based on your child’s age and what you think will engage your child’s interest. I recommend checking out the “Read Sample” feature on Amazon and reading reviews there. Another place to learn about a book is on YouTube. You can typically see the entire book there.
Montessori-friendly books use photos or realistic illustrations. They don’t have talking animals or a lot of fantasy. But many books that have fantasy and talking animals are wonderful books, and I love sharing them with children who understand the difference between fantasy and reality.
For toddlers and preschoolers, about ¾ of the books I use are typically Montessori friendly (focusing on reality without smiling or talking animals or smiling or talking vehicles).
Books for a Spring Theme
I’m featuring books here for spring theme for preschoolers through elementary-age kids.
Books for a Spring Theme
Top Shelf of Forward -Facing Display:
- A New Beginning: Celebrating the Spring Equinox
- Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring is part of the lovely, Montessori-friendly seasonal series by Kenard Pak. It’s about a boy and his dog going on a walk in the countryside and seeing signs of spring. It’s perfect for Montessori classrooms and homeschools. The book is recommended for ages 2-7.
- Nature Anatomy (I have this fabulous Julia Rothman collection and some other Julia Rothman books.)
2nd Shelf:
- Another sweet book that I like to keep forward facing on a shelf for older toddlers and young preschoolers is When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes.
It’s a gentle, Montessori-friendly introduction to spring. The book is recommended for ages 4-8, but I like it best for ages 2-5. - Everything Spring from National Geographic Kids has beautiful photographs as do all National Geographic books, and it gives a nice introduction to spring for preschoolers.
- And Then It’s Spring
It’s a gentle, Montessori-friendly introduction to spring. The book is recommended for ages 4-8, but I like it best for ages 2-5.3rd Shelf:
- The Little Book of Backyard Bird Songs is one of the very few items with a battery that I like for young children. It’s an inviting way for children to learn to identify a variety of bird songs. Not only is there a clear image and description of each bird but the book includes each bird’s scientific name, where found, what it feeds on, its nest, its eggs, adult characteristics, and length. Of course, the best part is the set of buttons with a bird-head button that plays each bird’s unique song. Recommended for ages 5-9, although I love it for toddlers on up. (Even my 11-month old grandbaby loves when I play the bird songs for her)!
- I love A Nest Is Noisy. You’ll find nests from a variety of animals along with gorgeous illustrations. It includes a lot of information, but the illustrations are extra inviting. The Montessori-friendly book is recommended for ages 5-6.
- Up in the Garden and Down in the Dirt is a lovely Montessori-friendly book recommended for ages 5-8.
like for young children. It’s an inviting way for children to learn to identify a variety of bird songs. Not only is there a clear image and description of each bird but the book includes each bird’s scientific name, where found, what it feeds on, its nest, its eggs, adult characteristics, and length. Of course, the best part is the set of buttons with a bird-head button that plays each bird’s unique song. Recommended for ages 5-9, although I love it for toddlers on up. (Even my 11-month old grandbaby loves when I play the bird songs for her)!4th Shelf:
- A book from The Backpack Explorer series. These books have many beautiful photographs and engaging illustrations along with lots of ideas for nature activities. I have the 5-book set, which also includes a nature collection box to display nature treasures.
- Good Morning Clouds – beautiful mindfulness book with a QR code for a lovely song that goes with the book.
- Worm Weather – a lovely rhyming book for young children, but it’s not about worms. It’s about a rainy day (“worm weather”).
Bottom Shelf
- The Very Impatient Caterpillar by Ross Burach (A hilarious book that my grandkids LOVE!) – Books by Ross Burach are awesome! This whole series is so much fun and has a message in each book, too! )
- Make Way for Ducklings (a classic favorite)
- Spring by Gerda Muller is a wonderful Montessori-friendly, wordless board book recommended for ages 1-3. Its detailed pictures are perfect for vocabulary development and storytelling. I love having the whole series.
In a basket on the other side of the room are relevant books from other units:
- Free Spring Printables and Montessori-Inspired Spring Activities
- Spring Book Lists for Preschool and Elementary Kids: Garden Adventures Around the World
- Free Lamb Printables and Montessori-Inspired Lamb Activities
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a Mini Spring Unit
- Free Oviparous Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Oviparous Animal Activities
- Free Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Earth Day Unit
- The Best Earth Day Every Day Books for Kids
- Free Rabbit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Rabbit Activities
- The Best Bird Books for Kids
- The Best Nest Books for Kids
- The Best Duck and Duckling Books for Kids
- Free Flower Printables and Montessori-Inspired Flower Activities
- Favorite Books for a Flower Theme
- Favorite Books for a Butterfly Theme
- Favorite Books for an Amphibian Theme
- Favorite Books for a Bird Theme
Shelf with Fun Spring Fiction Books
We also have some fun spring fiction books on a shelf across the room:
- The Best Nest by P.D. Eastman is a classic. My children loved it, and now so do my grandkids. (Recommended for ages 3-7.)
- Curious George Flies a Kite (not a Montessori-style book but another fun classic)
- Frog and Toad Together (a classic)
- Make Way for Butterfly (Another hilarious book by Ross Burach. This whole series is so much fun and has a message in each book, too! )
- Goodnight, Butterfly (Another hilarious book by Ross Burach. This whole series is so much fun and has a message in each book, too! )
You can see more spring books here: Spring Books for Kids (including books as they’re published)
More Spring Resources
Spring Montessori-Inspired Products on Etsy
Free Spring Printables and Montessori-Inspired Spring Activities
Free Spring Scavenger Hunt Printables and Montessori-Inspired Activities
- Free Spring Songs and Rhymes for Circle Time
- Free Spring Songs and Educational Videos
- Thank You for Planet Earth (or Thank You, Planet Earth) Mindfulness Cards and Booklet
- Free Umbrella Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Activity of the Week – Montessori-Inspired Spring Activities
- Free Spring Printables and Montessori-Inspired Spring Math Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Spring Playdough Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Life Cycle Activities
- Free Kite Printables and Montessori-Inspired Kite Activities
- Montessori-Inspired Activities for Casey at the Bat
- Montessori-Inspired Snacktime Subtraction Activity
- Spring Book Lists for Preschool and Elementary Kids: Garden Adventures Around the World
- Montessori-Inspired Spring Activities with Spielgaben {Free Printablesl}
- Montessori-Inspired Spring Phonics Activities with Small Objects {Free Printables}
- Montessori Nature Tray with Vocabulary – Parts of the Plant
- Free Lamb Printables and Montessori-Inspired Lamb Activities
- Free Lamb Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Lamb Do-a-Dot Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori-Inspired Spring Themes and Activities {Hundreds of Resources}
- Free Spring Playdough Math Pack (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Montessori-Inspired Playdough Math Activities for Spring {Free Printables}
- How to Prepare a Simple Spring Playdough Tray
- 50+ Creative Ways to Use Materials Found on Your Nature Walks
- Spring-Themed, Editable Name and Word-Tracing Pack
- How to Prepare Montessori Shelves for a Mini Spring Unit
- Montessori Spring Printables for Classroom or Home
- Free Oviparous Animal Printables and Montessori-Inspired Oviparous Animal Activities
- Free Egg Do-a-Dot Phonics Printables (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Oviparous Animal Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Thank You for Planet Earth (or Thank You, Planet Earth) Mindfulness Cards and Booklet
- Free Spring Songs and Educational Videos
- Free Umbrella Do-a-Dot Phonics Printable (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Spring Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Free Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Printables and Activities for a Montessori-Inspired Earth Day Unit
- Free Rabbit Printables and Montessori-Inspired Rabbit Activities
- Free Rabbit and Kitten Do-a-Dot Printables (Montessori-Inspired Phonics Instant Download)
- Free Rabbit Cutting Strips (Montessori-Inspired Instant Download)
- Baby Animal Themed, Editable Name and Word Tracing Pack
- I Have, Who Has? Spring Art Appreciation Game Pack in Print or Cursive
- Spring Art Appreciation – Meditation and Puzzles
- Free Flower Printables and Montessori-Inspired Flower Activities
- Favorite Books for a Flower Theme
- Free Flower Songs and Educational Videos
- Kids’ Spring Activities Pinterest Board
Don’t miss our themed monthly packs! You’ll get the link and password for the Living Montessori Now subscriber library with the current pack and all the past monthly packs if you subscribe to the Living Montessori Now weekly newsletter!
Montessori-Inspired Spring Scavenger Hunt Pack for DIY Cards and Counters, Number or Letter Matching, Number or Letter Basket, Bead Bar Work, Hands-on Math Operations, Number or Letter Salt/Sand Writing Tray, Letter Tracing, DIY Movable Alphabet, and Creative Writing (subscriber freebie, so just sign up for my email to get the link and password – or check your inbox if you’re already a subscriber).
Have fun this spring!
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