I love the colorful, detailed illustrations, which include birds and animals looking on. Another nice book about maple syrup season is Sugar Snow, a My First Little House book by Laura Ingalls Wilder and Doris Ettlinger. Maple Syrup Season by Ann Purmell. Describes a family collecting sap, boiling the sap, and making maple syrup. Mud by Mary Lyn Ray and Lauren Stringer. A lyrical celebration of the season when frozen earth melts into mud. I would love to see children illustrate the text themselves. Listen to the Rain by Bill Martin Jr., John Archambault, and James Endicott. Contains beautiful, evocative descriptions of rain, from the “first wet whisper of the rain” to the “lightning-flashing thunder-crashing sounding pounding roaring rain” to the “fresh wet silent after-time of rain.” While the illustrations seem a bit austere, the lyrical prose stands on its own. Two Blue Jays is a wonderful introduction to blue jays and nesting behavior. The kids keep track of how long the blue jays take on a calendar, make a list of what the blue jays eat, draw pictures of the blue jays’ eggs, and notice the blue jays’ behavior. Two Blue Jays by Anne Rockwell and Megan Halsey. A girl and her classmates actively observe as a pair of blue jays build a nest in the tree outside their classroom window. At the end, we sit quietly and listen to the sounds we hear. While the book describes a neighborhood walk, we read this book when we go camping and cabining. The Listening Walk encourages children to listen to the sounds around them. The Listening Walk by Paul Showers and Aliki. A girl and her father take a walk, and the girl describes the sounds she hears along the way: footsteps, a sprinkler, a jackhammer, crickets, and more. Taro Gomi’s whimsical illustrations are lovely. Spring is Here by Taro Gomi. Describes the changing of the seasons. This perfectly executed concept book has a surprise ending that is a treat the first time you read it. It’s Spring! by Samantha Berger. In this playful rhyme, animals in turn convey the message that spring has arrived. Planting a Rainbow by Lois Ehlert. A mother and child plant a rainbow of flowers and watch them grow. Part concept book, Planting a Rainbow introduces children to colors and flowers. I love Anne Rockwell’s straightforward telling of the story, Harlow Rockwell’s delicate illustrations, perfect for spring, and how signs of spring are subtley incorporated into this simple story. My Spring Robin by Anne Rockwell, Harlow Rockwell, and Lizzy Rockwell. As a young girl searches her backyard for her “spring robin,” she notices many signs of spring - a bee taking honey from a crocus, a yellow forsynthia bush, fuzzy fiddleheads sprouting, etc.

A New Beginning by Wendy Pfeffer