Children's books for spring🌷

Special edition: Spring

Happy, happy, happy spring!

I won’t waste too much time introducing this issue, only point you in the direction of my 2021 special edition on spring for more great books, with special lists for titles about wind and rain, birds, and ponds (I love a good pond book myself):

Children's books for spring 🌱

Okay, let’s puddle-jump in! ☔️

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The Wind Blew by Pat Hutchins (1974)

I have a small handful (okay, it’s really quite a big handful) of books that I will never get rid of, that I plan on keeping until I have grandchildren if I’m lucky, or simply passing down to my children out of nostalgia for their childhoods, and The Wind Blew is one of them.

There was a time when we read this book without ceasing — my children speaking the immensely satisfying forward march of the words out loud along with me as I read the text.

The wind blew.

It took the umbrella from Mr. White
and quickly turned it inside out.

It snatched the balloon from little Priscilla
and swept it up to join the umbrella.

And not content, it took a hat,
and still not satisfied with that,

it whipped a kite into the air
and kept it spinning round up there.

Hutchins’ acrylic illustrations are akin to stylized, old-fashioned woodcuts, but their appeal to children is timeless — not least because of her talent in conveying the ups and downs (not to mention the pure comedy) of this domestic scene in which things increasingly, incrementally spin out of control, and you can see it on the people’s faces.

It’s hard to explain how much toddlers and preschoolers love this book, so you’ll have to take my word for it, but if you get your hands on this book, I don’t think you’ll regret it.

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Turtle's Race with Beaver by Joseph Bruchac and James Bruchac, illustrated by José Aruego and Ariane Dewey (2003)