Around here, the end of winter means rain, wildflowers, and completely unpredictable weather, and for those of you still waiting on your first warm breeze or peek of a crocus… my sympathies. Here are a couple of lovely change-of-season books and some that help navigate some complicated spring holidays: Purim, Holi, Passover, and Easter.
Rain! (Amazon) This adorable, low-text story about a grouchy old man and a irrepressible little boy is interesting to both adults and children of many ages—it’s something of a morality tale about perspective and attitude, but without explicit lessons and with a detail-rich look at their city neighborhood and its inhabitants. And that frog hat!
A Book of Babies (Amazon) a study in similarities and contrasts as baby animals enter the world. I like this one because it has enough written on the page that I can just read the words when I’m exhausted, but there’s lots of room to do noises and actions and draw out the dynamics between the animal families when I have more energy.
Moo: Peek-a-Flap (Amazon): This one is a standout in the farm animals + flap genre because it has interesting, not-too-obvious facts on the reverse side of the flaps, and the illustration is nicely detailed. The pages are huge and so are the flaps, which helps kids whose motor skills are still developing.
Home for a Bunny (Amazon): A golden oldie, with text that has slant rhymes and a nice rolling cadence but isn’t too rigid; naturalistic drawings of rabbits, frogs, robins, butterflies, and a wonderfully abrupt groundhog; and a cuddly ending.
HOLIDAYS
Spring’s religious holidays are plentiful, but regardless of origin they all seem to be pretty tough to explain to small children. But if you want a book to help you celebrate and bring your child into family traditions, these are worth a look. In chronological order:
Purim
Purim Is Coming! (Amazon): Spring atmosphere, hamantaschen, costumes, and noisemaking, plus “Yay Esther!”: this series evokes Jewish holidays via celebratory rhyming lists.
Hooray, It’s Purim! (Amazon): Animals make hamantaschen and deliver them in costume.
What Do You See on Purim? (Amazon): This is a point-to-the-picture style book with photos of Purim-related objects and happy/interested babies. The rhymes that tie them together are a little painful and off-meter, but baby faces are always fun to look at.
Holi
Holi Colors (Amazon): A new release from an experienced author... we are giving it a shot.
Let's Play Holi! (Amazon) Part of a slick-looking new board book series on Hindu festivals, including customs and origins, with three children at center stage to learn about them. Although it's not graphic, it doesn't shy away from the rough bits--the art shows Prahlada and Holika and the text confirms "and the evil Holika was burned up."
Passover
Dayenu! A Favorite Passover Song (Amazon): A board book version of the traditional song, with illustrations of Moses and parted seas interspersed with a modern family celebrating together.
Lotsa Matzah! (Amazon): a quick and cheerful rhymed book, starting with a glance at the Exodus story to explain flat matzah, then moving on to the dinner table.
Passover Is Coming! (Amazon): Preparation for the seder with a multigenerational family as a rhymed, celebratory list. Part of a series.
My First Passover (Amazon) a more solemn introduction to the seder and traditions around it, touching on the Exodus briefly toward the end.
What Do You See on Pesach? (Amazon) This is a point-to-the-picture style book with photos of Purim-related objects and happy/interested babies. The rhymes that tie them together are a little painful and off-meter, but baby faces are always fun to look at.
Easter
My First Easter (Amazon) A Tomie dePaola introduction to Easter which features egg dyeing, the Easter Bunny delivering baskets, an Easter lily, and dressing up for Easter Sunday.
My Day with Jesus (Amazon) is a Palm Sunday story told from the perspective of Jesus's donkey mount.
The Story of Easter (Amazon) Sunday-school handout style art ties in seasons and traditions with an introduction to Easter as a church holiday and a quick and non-graphic explanation of the crucifixion and resurrection. Part of a series aiming to provide Christian context to holidays celebrated in secular ways too. (Pingry's author page shows the rest.)
A Very Happy Easter Prayer (Amazon) and God Bless Our Easter (Amazon) are compromises between the “springtime symbols” and “Christian religious holiday” camps of celebration—explicitly Christian, but not trying to adapt the Easter story for toddlers within 20 pages.
More secular Easter celebration books, meanwhile, are pretty easy to come by.
The Story of the Easter Bunny (Amazon) provides an origin myth for the rabbit in question featuring a “round old couple” who paint eggs, weave baskets, and make chocolate eggs.
Hop! Hop! (Amazon) is one of Leslie Patricelli’s intro-to-holiday series, which are clear, funny, and encompass the mainstream elements that affect toddlers, most particularly here, egg-dyeing, Easter bunny, and candy.
Where Are Baby’s Easter Eggs? (Amazon) Lift-the-flap from Karen Katz, bright and cheery with thematic hide-and-seek.
Bright Baby Touch and Feel Easter (Amazon) photos of baby chicks and bunnies with its textured art.
The Bunny Rabbit Show (Amazon) isn’t really Easter-related aside from “it has rabbits,” but that seems like plenty of motivation to get more Sandra Boynton.