I have a confession: I don’t like spring.
Spring in Wisconsin is fickle. Just when you think you can consider putting your winter boots away, eight inches of snow falls. One day is perfectly sunny and warm, the next is blustery and cold. My kids, however, are doing their best to turn me around on spring. Now that they’ve had a taste of warmer weather, they don’t care when the next day is cold and rainy. They want to put on their rainboots and go outside. I’m trying to be more like my kids in oh so many ways.
Another thing that has been helping counter my aversion to spring is books. There are so many fun books about spring: plants budding, baby animals hatching, puddles for splashing — a celebration of newness is all around if I’m willing to slow down and see it.
Just Ducks! by Nicola Davies, Illustrated by Salvatore Rubbino
I have long been a fan of Just Ducks! The book begins with a little girl waking to the sound of quacking outside of her window. One of the more enjoyable signs of spring is starting to hear birds outside of the window, and our narrator finds so much joy in hearing the “quack quack quacking” of ducks. She then goes to the pond to find lots and lots of mallard ducks swimming together. Throughout the book, which is really quite simple — a day in the life of a duck — Nicola Davies includes lots of fun and delightful facts about ducks. It’s just as much for grown-ups as it is for kids!
Chirri & Chirra: The Rainy Day written and illustrated by Kaya Doi, translated from the Japanese by David Boyd
If you’ve been reading along for a while, you know that I absolutely love the Chirri & Chirra Series from Kaya Doi. The Rainy Day is one of my favorites, mainly because it reminds me to look for magic in rainy days. The girls ride their bikes through the rain, stopping in at a tea shop that is only open on rainy days. They continue their wet bike ride and the rain begins to fall upside down. There is so much charm to be found in Doi’s story and its stunning illustrations. And after you fall in love with Chirri and Chirra, make sure you check out the rest of their adventures through snow, tall grass and even underground.
Crab & Snail: The Invisible Whale by Beth Ferry, illustrated by Jared Chapman
Prolific children’s book author Beth Ferry is back with a lovable new duo: Crab & Snail. They’re best beach friends and they’re determined to enjoy a sunny day on the beach. But why does it only seem to be raining on them? Can they solve the mystery — with the help of their friends and neighbors — and make a new friend in the process? Clever, cute and so much fun, this is a great book to share with the early readers in your life.
The Digger and the Duckling written and illustrated by Joseph Kuefler
One spring, a duckling wanders onto a construction site. So begins The Digger and the Duckling, Joseph Kuefler’s sweet story of a family of construction equipment falling in love with a little lost duckling. While some of the equipment is won over more quickly than the others, they eventually come together to protect the duckling from storms and rain and ensure that she has a pond to swim in and food to eat. It really is such an adorable book; perfect for springtime.
Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest written and illustrated by Phoebe Wahl
The last book I’d like to tell you all about, while not expressly about spring, is my latest favorite. I’m actually a little obsessed with Phoebe Wahl’s Little Witch Hazel: A Year in the Forest. The book is four stories in one, each dedicated to a different season. We begin in Spring — though, I must admit, Summer is my favorite — and follow the Little Witch through a year in her life, full of owls and haunted stumps and visits to each of her neighbors to care for the sick. The whole book is stunningly illustrated by Wahl. It’s one of those books you cannot stop looking at; something new awaits with each read. Little Witch Hazel has won the heart of our family and I hope she’ll do the same for you.
– Margaret Leonard
Margaret Leonard is the owner of Dotters Books, an independent bookstore in Eau Claire. The shop, which specializes in books by a diverse range of authors, began as a book club and opened its doors in the fall of 2018. Follow Dotters Books on Instagram and Facebook.