Books about Trees for Babies and Toddlers
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It is nearly the Jewish holiday of Tu BiShvat (the new year and birthday for trees!) so our bookshelf is filled with books about trees. There are so many wonderful tree inspired books I wanted to share them in a blog post. Whether or not you celebrate Tu BiShvat these are great books. They are perfect for Earth Day, Arbor Day, or just because you want some books about trees! If you do celebrate Tu BiShvat keep going to the end because I have some special books for Tu BiShvat in particular on the bottom.
Our bookshelf is Sprout Kids: code OnTheWay10 gives a discount.
This is the Tree We Planted: I adore this tree book in the style of the house that Jack built. It keeps growing adding wonderful rhymes and nature vocabulary. I always love books that add some diverse new vocabulary and this book does it in a gentle way. It is a joy to read!
Tap the Magic Tree: This is a beautiful and engaging tree book for babies or toddlers. It is interactive, telling you what motion to do to the book. Then on the next page, there is a change due to the motion. I find toddlers find these types of books so engaging. I love how they are interactive without flaps that, in my experience, tend to wear with time. We practice counting as we tap the book and he always love blowing on and shaking the book!
Leaf Man: If you are looking for a book to inspire some different nature crafts, this is the one. It is a beautiful book where the characters are all made out of leaves and other nature elements. You can gather your own leaves and make your own leaf man!
Tree: a Peek Through Board Book: This book is gorgeous and very alluring. You see more animals on each page as there are more cuts in the tree. It has a beautiful rhyme and goes through the four seasons, showing how the seasons come and go. We have loved talking about seasons and this is a great one for that!
Who Will Plant a Tree?: This is another book that gently adds some wonderful new vocabulary. It shows how many animals contribute to planting trees whether dolphins moving coconuts or birds flying with seeds. I love how it gives a look at how many parts of the ecosystem contribute to that ecosystem. The illustrations here are realistic and absolutely breathtaking.
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom: I bet this isn’t a book you think of when you think of books about trees, but it absolutely is about a tree! It is also a wonderful classic for introducing the alphabet. I always love reading this book. In fact, it is included in my book and cook guide!
This Tree Counts: This book works on counting and also discusses all the ways we use trees. Many children may not realize we live in trees or benefit from trees in the many ways we do. I love that for giving some concrete understanding of why trees are so important!
We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt: In the style of We’re Going on a Bear Hunt this is a fun book about looking for leaves. I think of it as more of a fall book but we still loved it for our Tu BiShvat tree unit! It introduces different leaves and what trees they are associated with. I paired it with a leaf and tree matching activity to learn the leaves associated with different trees.
Acorn was a Little Wild: This book gives personality to a little acorn. It has a special place in my heart as just a fun book to read! If you have a toddler who enjoys collecting acorns, this is a great tree book for you! It shows how acorns become oak trees. While a bit less realistic because the acorn has eyes and a spunky personality, it is based in the reality of how trees grow and how acorns are moved around.
Kindness Grows: This book is about kindness and building positive relationships through kindness but it the relationships are compared to a tree. It is beautiful symbolism and makes for a nice book about trees with a good message.
Tu BiShvat Books
These books are great if you are also celebrating Tu BiShvat and looking for tree books for the holiday!
Sammy Spider's First Tu B'Shevat: If you celebrate the Jewish holidays there is a good chance you have heard of Sammy Spider. My son loves these books and always finds it funny how the mom repeats in every book “Silly Sammy, spiders spin webs.” This Tu BiShvat edition goes through the seasons.
Is it Tu B’Shevat Yet?: This is another classic Jewish holiday series. The Tu BiShvat one is an enjoyable introduction to some ways to celebrate and honor trees on Tu B’Shvat.
Tu B’Shevat is Coming: One more of the classic Jewish holiday series books. This series is great for very young toddlers and babies. It, like others in the series, introduces basic concepts of the holiday.
I’m a Little Acorn: This is a very simple introduction to trees growing and what Tu B’Shvat is. It is engaging with the die-cut pages! We got it through PJ library and I am not sure if that is the only way it is printed since I see a PJ library logo on the Amazon listing.
