Hooray – it’s SPRING! We hope you can get outdoors and enjoy all that the (hopefully!) better weather has to offer, whether you’re exploring a city, the seaside or open country.
There’s no better time of year to get excited about nature, and so here is our round-up of books – some new and some classic – that celebrate it, and should help accompany all sorts of spring-related discovery.
Benjamin Zephaniah’s Nature Trail, illustrated by Nila Aye
Published by Orchard Books
Lovely rhymes and gorgeous, colourful illustrations encourage readers to have a think about what they might discover, whether under flowerpots or in the trees. This is a joyful celebration of nature from the legendary Benjamin Zephaniah, and awesome illustrator Nila Aye.
I Am the Seed that Grew Into a Tree by Fiona Waters and Frann Preston-Gannon
Published by Nosy Crow (in association with The National Trust)
Another poetry book and this time applicable for any day of the year (not just spring – although in the UK the ‘squishy words’ to be said when wet poem can probably apply even in midsummer). From sea shells to stars, there’s something that all children (big or small) will be enchanted to hear and think about on their next natural adventure.
The Odd Egg by Emily Gravett
Published by Macmillan Children’s Books
All the other birds have laid their eggs – and duck feels very left out. So when he finds the biggest, best egg of them all, he is very excited. But after many weeks of care and patience….what will hatch out? An egg-cellent book about this iconic feature of spring from the outstandingly talented Emily Gravett!
Peter Rabbit: The Great Big Easter Egg Hunt by Beatrix Potter
Published by Puffin
For younger readers, this lift the flap book is a delightful and spring-centric adventure into the woodland world of Peter Rabbit. Beatrix Potter’s timeless illustrations still depict creatures and their habitat effortlessly more than a century on, and are sure to captivate young audiences in the same way, too.
Superworm by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler
Published by Alison Green Books
Wherever you live, there will be some minibeasts to look at, all waking up around now. Heroes, villains and some snappy rhymes – not to mention former OBP judge Axel Scheffler’s outstanding artwork – make Superworm a wonderful way of looking at tiny creatures in a new, big way.
A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies, illustrated by Mark Hearld
Published by Walker Books