Spring Story Time

The first book that I read for my Spring story time was Bloom Bloom by April Pulley Sayre. This delightful nonfiction book features photographs of a diverse range of flowers and habitats. Tulips, California poppies, Eastern redbuds, magnolias, and bluebonnets are just a few of the flowers that are featured. April Pulley Sayre does a wonderful job of both explaining and showing the growth process of plants and flowers in the spring. For example, "Leaves emerge. Stalks surge." Also, "Buds grow. Blossoms show." I'm so glad that there are more nonfiction picture books now that can be incorporated into story times. My audience was mostly babies, so I didn't have the opportunity to do a lot of interaction, but older children could be asked questions, such as, what color are the flowers? what kinds of flowers are these? where are they growing? can you see the caterpillar, and where is the bunny? There is a section at the back of the book that provides more information on the flowers that are featured. 

The second book that I read was When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes. I love all of Kevin Henkes' books and I absolutely adore Laura Dronzek's illustrations. This book takes the reader through the transitions of the seasons from winter to late spring. The illustrations are colorful and vibrant and there are possibilities for many interactive questions while you are reading the book to an audience. For example, how many birds, bunnies, umbrellas, kittens are there in the pictures? What colors are the flowers? What colors are the umbrellas? Why is there snow on the daffodils? When Spring has finally arrived, you're not done waiting because "Now, you have to wait for Summer." 

Alternate Books 

Books that I had, but did not read. 

my spring robin by Anne Rockwell features a girl who is looking for a robin who sang to her last summer. During her search, she sees a bee, a yellow forsythia bush, a magnolia tree, sprouting ferns, a toad, daffodils, violets, an an earthworm. Will she see her robin? 

The main character in Ten Seeds by Ruth Brown plants ten sunflower seeds. However the seeds become victims of insects, animals, and even a ball! Eventually one sunflower blooms and flourishes and at the end of the book the boy has ten seeds. This would be a good book for a counting story time as well. It would also make a great flannel board; I just haven't had a chance to make one yet. 

In Mouse's First Spring by Lauren Thompson, Mouse and Momma explore a day in spring together. They see a butterfly, a snail, a bird, a frog, a worm, and a flower. 

Hello Spring! by Shelley Rotner is another delightful nonfiction book about spring with photographs. The book both tells and shows flowers that bloom, animals that wake up from hibernation, animals that you can see during the spring, and even explains briefly how fruits and seeds can grow into new plants and trees through the process of pollination. There's also a brief glossary at the back of the book. 

In Hooray for Hoppy! by Tim Hopgood, Hoppy is a young rabbit who can't wait for spring to arrive! How will he know when spring is here? By using his five senses of course! When Hoppy hears birds singing, smells flowers, sees lambs, tastes fresh green grass, and feels the warm ground he knows that spring is here. 

In Shake a Leg, Egg! by Kurt Cyrus a mother goose and her goslings watch the last egg waiting for it to hatch. When will it hatch? The mother goose tells the egg, "Buds are bursting open. Sprouts are breaking through. Eggs are hatching everywhere. You can do it too!" Finally, at the end of the story, the egg hatches and a young gosling is ready to meet the world.