French children’s books: What we’re reading this spring

Printemps is a wonderfully simple picture book that introduces common flowers, fruits, and plants to your child.

It contains minimal text but it’s filled with beautiful images of the leaves, flowers, and other treasures arranged and photographed in a creative and artistic way. A cube of red poppies, a square of daisies, or a rectangle of strawberries can lead to rich discussions about shapes and colours with your child.

The photos of beans arranged on a bed of lentils or narrow blades of grass weaved together in geometric patterns are simply captivating; young infants, toddlers, and adults alike can appreciate the book.

This book is also great for parents who want to raise a Montessori child. It is based on nature and reality while providing aesthetic visuals.

One of the reasons you’ll find many Scholastic books on my lists of French children’s books is that they are easily available in Canada (Hello, free shipping) and very reasonably priced. But those aren’t the only reasons Voici le printemps is on this list.

Since we are thoroughly enjoying Voici l’hiver this season, I thought its spring counterpart would be a perfect addition to our collection.

I love the cute illustrations of familiar faces enjoying the arrival of spring. The book is packed with season specific vocabulary, presented through text that rhymes and sounds melodious when read out loud.

If there is one book that I am most excited about on this list of French spring books for kids, it’s definitely L’oiseau fait son nid. I really do hope that you can easily get it for your child if you, too, find this book to be a must-have for your seasonal bookshelf.

So, what is so special about this book? It follows the journey of a bird as it makes its nest and includes explanations of how the little feathered creature goes about doing that. Children will learn about concepts such as force and how we go about moving objects.

Spring is a vibrant time where plants are sprouting, flowers are blooming, and trees are blossoming. This National Geographic Kids book is perfect to introduce curious children to the science of plants as they notice the changes that spring brings about in their natural environment. It can help them them better understand what a plant is, what it needs to grow, and even how to start a garden at home.

Since it’s not a story that you need to read from cover to cover, you can focus on the chapter(s) that your child is most interested in. For instance if your child is drawn to flowers outside, you bring the book outside with you to discuss how flowers bloom, with the bud that opens gently to reveal a flower.

And what else do children notice in the spring? Bees, bees, and lots of bees! My daughter has always been curious about them and knows that it’s thanks to these little buzzing beauties that she gets to enjoy her delicious honey toast.

We’ve watched cartoons about them and last year, we even visited a farm where she saw two beehives. It makes sense to add a book on the important work of these hardworking bees to continue exploring this fascinating topic.