When Spring finally comes I feel like us northerners all burst outside like we’ve been hibernating. My kids beg for more minutes at the park, I take the long way walking home, and we linger chatting and playing with friends.
We just want to be outdoors.
This means different things for different people. Play dates at the park. Hikes in the woods. Brunches on outdoor patios. Long bike rides. However, we do it the outdoors theme, from what I can see, is pretty universal.
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So, I hope you’re excited to get outdoors this week because our books inspire just that.
A Walk in the Forest by Maria Dek
“In the forest, wonders await…” so begins this beautiful book. Gently painted illustrations and brief words encourage you to look closely at the wonders the forest has to offer.
Some Bugs by Angela DiTerlizzi
Brief text that lends itself to reading aloud. Bright, enticing illustrations. A truly playful book about bugs for story time.
More about Camping? Check out this Pinterest Board
1001 Things to Spot series by Usborne
My kids LOVE these books. We often used them on road trips starting when they were about 2 and they are still a hit now at age 6. The pictures are full of fun details and tell so many stories within the illustrations. Plus there is the fun game of trying to track down different things on each page.
The Very Busy Spider by Eric Carle
Outside means bugs to my son in particular. He is forever finding them and carrying them over so his lucky mom can see them too. Isn’t he sweet? This is one of my favorite books by Eric Carle and good for the letter V.
National Geographic Little Kids Big Book of Why by Amy Shields
National Geographic is one of my go-to for nonfiction kids books. They pull together fascinating information and stunning photographs. My kids have a growing collection of these books on a variety of subjects that they pour over but the Big Book of Why is one of favorites. We got it when my twins were 3 and deep in the endless stream of Why Mom?
More Outdoors Ideas? Here are 250+ Awesome Ones
Author Spotlight: Tad Hills
Tad Hill is from Norwell, Massachusetts. He grew up roaming fields and forests with his siblings which is likely what inspired a lot of his books. I love that one of his favorite children’s books as a kid was Robert McCloskey’s Blueberries for Sal which in some ways reminds me of his stories.
Tad is best known for his Duck and Goose books which are what we first discovered when my twins were babies. The Duck and Goose board books were some of their favorites and we have quite a collection. They are perfect books for older babies and young toddlers. Cute animals. Basic concepts. Simple text.
He also has a whole series of Rocket books which are our current favorites.
Read More at tadhills.com
How Rocket Learned to Read
This is our favorite Tad Hill book this year. My twins are busy figuring out this reading thing in kindergarten and something about the way Hill describes the process fascinated them. Rocket the dog learns to read with a sweet little bird as his teacher. Positive. Encouraging. Sweet. This book is so many wonderful things and perfect for new readers.
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