Montessori-Friendly Books About Spring Your Baby and Toddler Will Love
Are you looking for spring theme books for your one or two-year-old? Here are 13 books about gardens, bugs, nature and growing plants that are Montessori-friendly.
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Spring is my favourite season to spend outside with my two-year-old.
Birds are laying eggs in their nests, bees are working hard, and flowers are creating colour.
There are so many topics to explore with toddlers.
Stories, not fiction, and beautiful images are a simple but fun way to help young children understand all the incredible things that happen in the natural world this season.
The spring theme books in this post cover natural topics like gardening, birds, insects, playing outside, and growing plants from seeds. Whether you’re exploring the changes in the season, trying to make bug houses, or growing plants together, there will be something for you.
P.S Many of the books in this list are still enjoyed by my 4-year-old too!
COMING UP
What makes a book Montessori-friendly?
Is it more sustainable to buy new or second-hand books?
Shopping for books without Amazon
13 Montessori books about spring for 1-year-olds and toddlers
What makes a book Montessori-friendly?
Montessori is a child-led approach that centres on the child’s individual interests and abilities. It encourages independence and learning through play.
Research shows that children under 6 struggle to understand abstract concepts and may not be able to distinguish between reality and fantasy. It is why young children believe in Santa or worry there’s a monster under their bed.
A book is considered Montessori-friendly if it has age-appropriate language and realistic imagery. You will not find talking or flying animals in a Montessori book, instead they find magic in real events, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly.
All 15 of the spring theme books for babies and toddlers in this list are Montessori-friendly, so your 1 and 2-year-olds can explore the natural wonder of spring in a realistic way.
Is it more sustainable to buy New or second-hand books?
I usually recommend buying everything secondhand, but there are a few factors to consider when it comes to buying books.
Firstly, many popular secondhand book sites are owned by Amazon. When you buy a secondhand book, the author gets no payment from you, instead, Amazon gets all the profit.
There is a big boycott against Amazon because they avoid millions in tax, have a massive carbon footprint due to using jets, and treat workers poorly.
This does not mean you shouldn’t buy preloved books though. Secondhand books are eco-friendly because it reduces the amount of deforestation, water, and energy used to produce new books.
Another way to be more sustainable while still supporting the author is to look in the library. When you borrow a book for free, the author still gets royalties. It’s a win-win.
In this blog post, I’m going to give you options to save money and shop secondhand without supporting Amazon.
Shopping without Amazon
To make finding books about spring for your babies and toddlers easier, I have searched for each of my recommendations on the site Better World Books, a small ethical business in the UK that sells preloved and new books.
Secondhand bookstores that aren’t owned by Amazon:
*Biblio is international and has a filter by location function so you can search for books in the USA, Canada, UK, Asia, and Europe. You can change the currency when viewing items in your basket. Different sellers use this site so be conscious of your shipping costs before you pay.
BUYING NEW?
If you can’t find the book you like preloved and you want a book you can keep, then I have created a list on Bookshop UK. For transparency, this site is affiliated with Bookshop which means I get a small fee for referring, at no cost to you.
Bookshop has allowed me to create lists of books I recommend, which makes it more convenient as you can save on postage.
13 Montessori books about spring for 1-year-olds and toddlers
When you’re reading my list of spring theme books, you will notice I have searched each book in Biblio and Better World Books to make secondhand shopping more convenient for you. Please remember to check the location and the condition first if you are trying to buy preloved books because both sellers also sell new copies.
I’ve included an eBay search when there are limited used copies available.
If you’re in the UK and are looking for new books, you can view the full list of recommendations in my online bookshop here.
Contents:
Bird builds a nest
Planting a rainbow
Baby loves spring!
What can you see in Spring?
Lulu loves flowers
Bee: Nature’s tiny miracle
Lift and look bugs
In the garden
My first: Nature
Plant and grow
My busy green garden
Ten seeds
Caterpillar to butterfly
1. Bird builds a nest
By Martin Jenkins + Richard Jones
Summary: This is a sweet story about the life of a bird who is building a nest. My toddler loves the bird in this paperback. She’s labelled it a cuckoo for some reason, but she’s too young to understand the educational side of the book yet. She does, however, love sticks so we’re going to have a go at making our own bird’s nest, like the cuckoo. This book grows with your child, once they are a bit older it’s a great way to introduce them to forces.“This stick is too heavy… bird can carry one large twig, or two medium-sized twigs” The story ends with the bird’s eggs hatching.
Age: Most suitable for toddlers (and preschoolers)
Check prices:
UK:
Very hard to find secondhand in UK
US:
USED: Better World Books
NEW: Bookshop
NEW/USED: Biblio
2. Planting a rainbow
By Lois Ehlert
Summary: A child plants seeds and bulbs in her garden with her mum and watches them grow in a range of vibrant colours. There are no people, just step-by-step imagery of the process of growing flowers in a way that appeals to very young children. Once the flowers have grown, you see them displayed in the colours of the rainbow, this is visually appealing to babies, but also educational for older children because all the flowers are named. This has been one of my daughter’s favourite books since she was a baby and she looks at it every day.
Age: Suitable for babies and toddlers
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3. Baby loves spring!
By Karen Katz
Summary: This is another daily read with my two-year-old all year round. This lift-the-flap board book follows a non-gendered baby on a walk outside. Each page reveals a simple joy of spring, such as baby birds, insects, frogs and flowers. It’s got large flaps and bright colours which is always a hit with babies; now that my toddler is a bit older she enjoys counting the animals on each page with me. The frogs have a bit of a smile but it’s realistic other than that.
Age: Suitable for babies and toddlers
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4. What Can you see in spring?
By Sian Smith
Summary: This is a great first book about Spring and helps young children learn the names of everything they’ll see this season when they go on a walk. You could even take it outside with you. This book is useful for toddlers who are just learning to speak and for any children interested in nature. It also comes in the other three seasons.
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5. Lulu loves flowers
By Anna McQuinn and Rosalind Beardshaw
Summary: Lulu likes the poem “Mary Mary;” it inspires her to plant a garden. With help from her mum, Lulu plants seeds and finds fun activities to do, like making a scrapbook with her mum, while she waits for them to grow. Once she’s added silver bells with her dad and put on her flowery top, her friends come round and they sit and eat the plants (strawberries and beans) that Lulu’s mum has grown. Lulu is a character my children love because she has a range of relatable stories, our favourite is Lulu reads to Zeke (her new baby brother who always cries).
NOTE: If you’re in the USA, the book is called Lola plants a garden.
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6. Bee: nature’s Tiny Miracle
By Patricia Hegarty and Britta Teckentrup
Summary: This book tells the story of a bumblebee through the most beautiful illustrations and poetic language. The realistic imagery shows the journey a bee embarks on and helps children understand their vital role in the ecosystem. The words are descriptive and rhyme with one sentence on each page.
Age: Under two, my toddler was a fast page-turner still preferring imagery over listening so I didn’t get to properly read it to her until she was closer to two and a half. Instead, we spot the bee on each page and I say what it’s doing, make buzz sounds, and spot animals and colours. Both of my children love learning about bees each time spring arrives because the garden is always full of them.
BEE is available in board books, paperbacks and hardbacks depending on your child’s age. My toddler is drawn to the main bee which is often in a hexagon-shaped cut out so I’d recommend the board book for younger children.
Note: this book is fairly new and hard to find secondhand.
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7. Kew: Lift and look bugs
By Tracey Cottingham
Summary: During springtime, lots of insects start to appear in the garden. Curious children will enjoy lifting the flaps and finding all the places bugs can hide. The images are beautiful and the sentences are short so it’s ideal for very young children.
This is part of a series by Kew Gardens, other options include flowers and plants, growing fruits and vegetables, bees and birds.
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8. in the garden
By Elizabeth Spurr and Manelle Oliphant
Summary: This book tells the story of a young boy and his garden. It’s pretty straightforward; he prepares the soil, plants the seeds and maintains the garden while he patiently waits for his plants to grow. There is minimal writing in this story, but it works. The rhyming narration describes what is on the page and the stunning illustrations complement it perfectly. This is a great book to have out during spring, especially if you’re going to grow something with your little one. It shows each step and shows the boy being patient.
Age: It’s a board book so ideal for older babies and young toddlers
Note: the author is American so this book is harder to find preloved in the UK
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9. My first nature
By DK
Summary: These tabbed board books are extremely loved in my home, the zoo one was my 3-year-old’s favourite book for a year when he was interested in animals and he still likes it now at almost 5. For my toddler, we are using the Nature book right now because it’s got images of lots of things to see outside. Children love pointing and then listening as you say the name of the objects on the page (it might be the only time my kids actually listen!). It also really helps develop their language, even if they aren’t speaking yet.
Age: all ages
Note: DK books are often available in UK libraries
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10. Plant and grow
By Patricia Hegarty and Thomas Elliott
Summary: This track-and-trace book helps babies and toddlers interact with each part of growing plants while being introduced to directions. It has short rhyming sentences with repetitive words so young children will enjoy listening before they’re able to do the fine motor part.
Age: Babies and toddlers
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11. My busy green garden
By Terry Pierce and Carol Schwartz
Summary: By adding an extra rhyming line to each page, this paperback takes toddlers on an adventure around a busy garden full of insects and wildlife. The surprise chrysalis “in disguise” adds an extra element of wonder that is revealed on the last page.
Age: toddlers
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12. Ten seeds
By Ruth Brown
Summary: The story starts with ten seeds, but one by one each growing shoot is eaten, taken, crushed, dug up, and even infested with greenflies until the final one blooms. The illustrations are detailed and the counting is fantastic for young toddlers, especially if they are interested in numbers.
Age: toddlers
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13. Caterpillar to butterfly
By National Geographic
Summary: This is a realistic (but simple) introduction to the lifecycle of a butterfly. It starts with a riddle and then moves on to stages. It’s good for toddlers as there are minimal words, and can be kept for older children too. Each spring, we make a caterpillar home in a large jar and wait for them to turn into butterflies. This book is a perfect accompaniment for that activity and appeals to my 4-year-old too.
Age: toddlers
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How old is your little one and what is their favourite book? Let me know in the comments below!
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