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Best Children’s Books About Summer

As the weather warms up and the summer holidays beckon, why not celebrate this season of sunshine and adventures with some Summer-themed books for children?

From classic seaside tales like Lucy and Tom at the Seaside and The Lighthouse Keeper’s Lunch, to laugh out loud stories of animal adventures like You Can’t Take an Elephant on Holiday and The Great Hamster Getaway, our selection has something for everyone to enjoy. This Summer booklist is recommended for parents, teachers and librarians looking to inspire a love of reading and a thirst for adventure in young children.

Get ready to dip your toes in and explore the sights, sounds and smells of the summertime with our list of recommended children’s books about Summer.

Best Children’s Books About Spring

As the mornings grow lighter and green shoots start to peep through, why not celebrate the changing of the seasons with some Spring-themed books for children? Spring is a season of new beginnings, growth and new life, and our booklist is full of stories that capture the wonder of this magical time of year.

From charming tales about animals waking up from hibernation, like Little Bear’s Spring and books about seasonal life cycles like Pip and Egg, to books about springtime weather and enjoying the natural joys of the new season like Hello Spring, our selection has something for everyone to enjoy. This Spring booklist is recommended for parents, teachers and librarians looking to inspire a love of reading and an appreciation for nature in young children.

From tadpoles and bunnies to daffodils and blossoms, our list of recommended children’s books about Spring will breathe new life into your Spring storytimes all season long.

Non-fiction

Young children can explore and discuss the season of spring with this beautiful non-fiction picture book. Very simple text, high frequency and decodeable words and strong art-to-text matching make this a perfect book for early readers. It also features questions to encourage readers to relate the information to their own experiences.

It is part of the series ‘I Love the Seasons’ which helps young children aged 4+ to discover the seasons. The books are great for seasonable topics and projects in the early years.

Picturebook

A fantastically fun springtime picture book from the creators of The Leaf Thief. Hello sunshine! Hello lovely leaves. Nice to see you back.

Squirrel is so excited. It’s spring and the most perfect flower has started to blossom – and Squirrel has decided the flower is HIS.

After what happened to the leaves in autumn (THEY ALL DISAPPEARED), Squirrel’s not taking any chances. . . He MUST keep the flower safe, and he needs his best friend Bird to help him!

But perhaps Squirrel wants to protect the flower a little too much. . . After all, even flowers want a little space sometimes.

Join Squirrel and Bird as they discover and explore the wonderful nature of spring . . . and learn a few things along the way.

A laugh-out-loud book about the changing seasons, with extra information in the back for especially curious minds.

Perfect as a companion reader to children learning about seasons in school.

A brilliant picture book that explores feelings, moods and times where we feel out of control.

Picturebook

In this uplifting picture book about spring, follow two children and their father through their backyard as they discover all the different ways nature wakes up from its long winter sleep.

Spot the busy creatures and plants as the tale unfolds, then learn about how each responds to the increasing daylight and warmth that usher in the season.

Co-authors Sean Taylor (picture book author) and Alex Morss (ecologist, journalist, and educator) offer an inviting introduction to the science behind spring. The yard is bright, birds are singing, the bees are buzzing and there are tadpoles in the pond! What is all the commotion about?

In each colourful scene, the family discovers a different sign of spring – a bird collecting twigs for its nest, a fox snuggling her cubs, a caterpillar feasting on leaves… After the story, annotated illustrations explain the spring behaviours of various plants and animals.

Inspire an appreciation for the natural world in this joyous exploration of spring.

Edited by Emily Pither.

Poetry

With lyrical text and enchanting illustrations, It Starts with a Bee takes you on a journey through the seasons as you follow a busy bee pollinate a wild garden.

Winter, Spring, Summer and Autumn, the bee tends to the flowers and plants. As the seasons change and the garden blooms into a wildlife wonderland, the bee is joined by well-loved minibeasts and creatures – worms, beetles, spiders and mice – who make the wild garden their home.

A rhyming poem builds page on page, echoing the life the bee brings to the garden. Beautiful foldout illustrations will transport readers into the world of the bee as it navigates the flowers and plants of the garden.

Teach your children about the crucial role bees play in the beautiful cycle of life in this charming tale of the workings of the natural world.

Picturebook

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the park . . .

Timothy Pope is blown this way and that way in the windy park — but among the whistling wind and blustering brollies could that be a shark he spies through his telescope. Peep through the die-cut hole in the pages of the book to find out.

A third book in the bestselling Shark in the Park series — it’s fin-tastic fun!

Non-fictionPicturebook

The perfect introduction to seasons and weather for young children.

It’s winter. It’s cold! The squirrels are digging up acorns to eat. But what will they eat in the spring when the acorns are gone? This beautiful picture book is the perfect introduction to the seasons and how the weather changes throughout the year. The second book in the new Science Storybook series from Walker Books, illustrated by up-and-coming talent Richard Jones and written by the award-winning author Martin Jenkins.

Non-fictionPicturebook

Nature is like a magical picture that changes with the seasons.

Watch six breathtaking landscapes transform in front of your eyes in this beautifully illustrated book. Interactive split pages create an immersive experience that allows readers to take a visual journey across the globe, from the Arctic tundra to the African plains. With simple facts and stunning, collaged artwork, this is the perfect book for nature lovers, young and old.

Step through a magical year in nature.

Picturebook

Join Lucy and Oscar and their dog Jasper as they explore spring, summer, autumn and winter on a woodland walk. What amazing things can you see? Come rain or shine, Oscar and Lucy walk Jasper the dog every day.

On a spring morning, the world is waking up, animals peek out from their burrows and the birds sing happy songs. On summer afternoons it is HOT HOT HOT and picnics are a joy to have. On autumn evenings, the sky turns black and minibeasts find their perfect hiding spots. Winter mornings are frosty and cold. Spot all the nature elements that make woodland walks so special!

Each spread uncovers an exciting new scene, at a certain time of the day and the year. Spot all the animals, minibeasts, leaves, trees and flowers. The wood is full of treasures.

Published in collaboration with The Woodland Trust, the largest woodland conservation charity in the UK, and with delightful artwork from Hannah Tolson, A Walk in the Woods will delight kids who love to explore.

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