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Life Cycles Topic

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Best children’s books about life cycles

Hatching, growing, changing… this list brings you the best children’s books about life cycles. Featuring butterflies, seeds, eggs and more, this collection covers the life cycles of a huge range of creatures and plants. From favourite stories to fascinating non-fiction texts with vibrant illustrations, children in the Early Years and KS1 will love exploring the science of how all sorts of organisms change and grow with our list of recommended children’s books about the topic of life cycles.

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Stories and picturebooks about life cycles

Nicola Davies
 & Hannah Peck
Picturebook
See how a little girl recovering from poor health finds wonder in nature and delights in planting a garden with her father to attract a fascinating array of butterflies. Exploring the life stages of butterflies, their importance to our ecosystems and the revitalising power of nature, this book is a heart-warming information story for children who love the outdoors and all its incredible creatures. The stories carries a beautiful message about life cycles and the power of new beginnings. 
Benji Davies
Picturebook
Meet Tad.She's the smallest tadpole in a big pond, and lives there with all her tadbrothers and tadsisters.Although something else lives there too... BIG BLUB! And when everyone else starts to disappear, Tad starts to wonder if Big Blub will get her too...Or is everyone else going somewhere else; somewhere better? And if so, will Tad ever get there too?A big story about a tiny tadpole - about growing up, branching out, and taking a leap into life.Winner of the 2020 Oscar's Book Prize and from the award-winning creator of The Storm Whale and Granddad's Island, Tad is the perfect story for everyone who's ever grown up, or still has a way to go...
Alex Latimer
 & David Litchfield
Picturebook
From standout author, Alex Latimer, and bestselling illustrator, David Litchfield, comes a beautiful picture book about finding - and holding on to - friendship. One bright afternoon, Pip met Egg.Pip is a seed from a glorious tree, and Egg is a bird's egg from a nearby nest. When Pip and Egg first meet, they are almost the same size and shape - like two peas in a pod.But as their friendship grows, so do they - for Pip this means growing roots, but for Egg?Well, Egg grows wings, and she can't wait to use them. Though Pip wishes he can follow Egg on her adventures, his roots are strong.So he watches his friend fly away.But true friends always find their way back to one another, and there are no truer friends than Pip and Egg.And if there's one thing they learn, it's that the circle of life will always lead them back to each other.This lyrical, reassuring story that children will love features lush illustrations filled with warmth and emotion, and teaches children about the value of friendship.
Vivian French
 & Charlotte Voake
Non-fiction Picturebook
Watch a caterpillar metamorphose into a butterfly in this fun, informative, award-winning picture book, part of the Nature Storybooks series.Watch a caterpillar metamorphose into a butterfly in this fun, informative, award-winning picture book, part of the Nature Storybooks series. Curious young minds will love discovering each stage in the journey, from wriggly green caterpillar to the beautiful butterfly, in this picture book which combines story with information.
Pat Hutchins
Picturebook
Rosie has lost her baby chick. She looks under the hen house. She looks behind the wheelbarrow. But little baby chick isn't there. But watch out Rosie - there's someone following you, and it's not just your baby chick!The funny sequel to the much-loved and bestselling Rosie's Walk, with the same element of danger and surprise that children so enjoy.

Julia Donaldson
 & Yuval Zommer
Picturebook
From Julia Donaldson, bestselling author of The Gruffalo, and award-winning illustrator Yuval Zommer, comes a charming minibeast Cinderella story.Crawling through the garden, the little Woolly Bear Caterpillar wonders what kind of moth she will become. Bonny and bright, stunning and smart, but not kind, the other caterpillars laugh at the small, plain Woolly Bear. There is one thing that they are sure of: Woolly Bear could never be as dramatic and beautiful as them! But could one little caterpillar be about to undergo a truly terrific transformation?Brilliantly written and stunningly illustrated this engaging picture book comes complete with a non-fiction mini book about caterpillars and moths written by a nature specialist.
Eric Carle
Picturebook
Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar is a perennial favourite with children and adults alike. Its imaginative illustration and clever cut-out detail charts the progress of a very hungry caterpillar as he eats his way through the week.
Alexis Deacon
 & Viviane Schwarz
Picturebook
From award-winning picture book makers Alexis Deacon and Viviane Schwarz comes an enlightening new story about discovering the world – and your place in it.For budding philosophers of all ages, this is the uplifting story of Ergo the chick. Ergo wakes up and sets about exploring her world. She discovers her toes. She discovers her wings and her beak. She has discovered EVERYTHING! But then she considers the wall. And something outside the wall goes BUMP. What could it be? The only way to find out is to peck peck peck through to the other side...This is an inspiring story told with heaps of humour. Like its predecessor, I Am Henry Finch, Ergo is a book for everyone – from the very young to the very old. It is for dreamers, philosophers, artists, the foolish and the enlightened. A profound picture book experience told with simplicity and style.
Libby Walden
 & Richard Jones
Picturebook
No one knows what lies ahead or who they’ll grow to be, It’s all a part of growing up – the journey to be me!In this stunning picture book, Richard Jones’ enchanting illustrations sensitively depict each stage of life and the journey of transformation that we undergo as we grow up.

Non-fiction books about life cycles

Ruth Owen
Non-fiction
What life cycle stages does a tadpole go through to become a frog? How do animals such as lambs, puppies, baby mice, blackbird chicks and caterpillars change and grow? Using examples of familiar animals, readers will investigate animal life cycles. How are the life cycles of different species the same and different? How do parent animals care for their young? And what are the life cycle stages that humans go through? Look for the download button throughout the book. It shows there are free downloadable worksheets and other resources available for that topic.
Vivian French
 & Alison Bartlett
Picturebook
Learn about the transformation from frogspawn to frog with this fun, informative picture book, part of the Nature Storybooks series.What happens when you take an empty fish tank, add some pond water, scoop in some frogspawn ... and wait? Curious young minds will love learning about how frogs grow in this picture book which combines story with information.
DK
Non-fiction
Learn about the remarkable beginnings of life with this adorable book of baby animals hatching from their eggs.Find out all about how eggs hatch step by step in this fascinating baby animal book for children. Many animals start life inside eggs and this book explores these magical capsules in detail, with stunning photographs of the moment the creatures emerge.Featuring more than 20 animals - including a penguin, a tortoise, and even a slug - this book documents the moment of hatching in detail. Children aged 5-7 can learn how birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish, and invertebrates hatch from their eggs, as well as what happens inside an egg's shell.

Children's books about plant life cycles

Ruth Brown
Picturebook
A simple story to introduce the idea of seed dispersal and life cycles. It tells the story of ten seeds, only one of which survives to grow into a lovely sunflower and produces new seeds to start the cycle again. The illustrations are full of detail and the text is an accessible introduction to seed science for young children.
Laura Knowles
 & Jennie Webber
Non-fiction

Follow the journey of a tiny sycamore seed as it becomes a sapling and then grows over time to become an enormous tree that houses all sorts of life. This is a gentle and lyrical text with beautiful illustrations.

Camilla De la Bedoyere
Non-fiction
How do sunflowers begin? What do sunflowers need to grow? When do the flowers open? Discover the amazing stages of different life cycles and learn how different species are born, grow up and reproduce with this stunning series. Packed with amazing photographs of every stage, labelled diagrams to explain growth and development, fascinating facts and discussion points for further learning.
Kay Barnham
Picturebook
Dig deep and explore the incredible plant life cycle story. From tiny seeds to small shoots, long branches and mighty tree trunks, explore the life cycle of plants and find out what plants need to help them grow. Follow the journey of a young boy and girl as they find out about how plants grow. This beautifully illustrated picture book explains why insects are important to plants, how seeds travel and why plants are important to us all.

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