Nature Inspired Picture Books for Kids

I love picture books for kids

The stories, the artwork, the cuddling with your kids.

Like many other homeschool mamas out there, books are of my favorite aspects of homeschooling.

I also love picture books by the seasons. We live in a place that gets to enjoy all 4 seasons, but feel free to make adjustments depending on where you live.

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At the end of this blog post I have a FREE printable book tracker so you can check off the picture books that you’ve read together.

Picture books for kids can make them fall in love with books and reading.

These stories for kids are seasonal and nature inspired. I love reading to the kids before bed or cuddled up on the couch. There are so many benefits to reading to kids, and even older children enjoy picture books. This list is aimed for 3-12 years old, but honestly I really enjoy these stories and illustrations. There’s a great podcast from Read A Loud Revival on the benefits of having teens enjoy picture books too.

A good book is great no matter what your age.

There are endless children’s picture books out there, it was hard to make this list. Undoubtedly there are many great books that I missed, but I only wanted to recommend books that our family has personally enjoyed and read together.

What I looked for with these picture books for kids

• • Nature themed
  • Seasonally inspired
  • Beautiful illustrations
  • Engaging for the parent and kids
  • Have good messages

Where you can find these picture books for kids

If you have a fantastic local library many of these titles will be there for you to borrow. You might be a mama like me and love to build your library at home with fantastic books. Check out local thrift book stores or buy new. The links in this blog post are to Amazon (affiliate links) however feel free to buy second hand or borrow from the library wherever you can.

Homeschooling tip

Kids picture books make excellent copywork sentences for older kids. 

I’m a huge fan of Charlotte Mason homeschooling, and copywork, poetry and nature study is part of our weekly rhythm.

I’ve truly found that my kids never resist doing homeschooling if they are copying sentences from a book we just read.

I tried to match these picture books the best I could with our seasons. We live in the northern Hemisphere (Canada), however, many of you live in opposite seasons or don’t have the same weather patterns. Feel free to make adjustments.

There’s some new ones I’ve discovered since creating this list like ‘A Little More Beautiful’ by Sarah Mackenzie, Ernestine’s Milky Way by Kerry Madden-Lunsford, Farmhouse by Sophie  Blackall or Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland.

Picture Books for Kids List

1. Owl Moon by Jane Yolen
2. Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner 
3. A Perfect Day by Carin Berger
4. The Snowy Day  by Ezra Jack Keats
5. A Day so Gray by Marie Lamba
6. Love by Matt de la Peña 
7. Sugar Snow ( Little House Picture Books)
8. Goodbye Winter, Hello Spring by Kenard Pak
9. If I Had a Little Dream by Nina Laden
10. Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
11. Pond by Jim LaMarche
12. Finding Wild by Megan Wagner Lloyd
13. Water Can Be by Laura Purdie Salas
14. This is Sadie by by Sara O’Leary
15. The Flowers are Calling by Rita Gray
16. The Honeybee by Kirsten Hall
17. Miss Rumphius by Barbara Cooney
18. Sonya’s Chickens by Phoebe Wahl
19. Out of School and Into Nature: The Anna Comstock Story by Suzanne Slade
20. The Curious Garden by Peter Brown
21. Up in the Garden Down in the Dirt  by Kate Messner
22. How Does my Garden Grow? by Gerda Muller
23. We are the Gardeners by Joanna Gaines
24. Green on Green by Dianne White
25. What’s Cooking at 10 Garden Street?: Recipes for Kids From Around the World by Felicita Sala
26. The Night Gardener by Terry Fan and Eric Fan
27. Song of the River by Joy Cowley
28. Red Sky at Night by Elly Mackay
29. The Listening Walk by Paul Showers
30. The Sequoia Lives On by Joanna Cooke
31. The Hike by Alison Farrell
32. Yellow Kayak by Nina Laden 
33. The Tree Lady by H. Joseph Hopkins
34. Seeds and Trees  by Brandon Walden and Kevin & Kristen Howdeshell
35. The Keeper of Wild Words by Brooke Smith
36. Mooncakes  by Loretta Seto
37. Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
38. Apple Cake: A Gratitude by Dawn Casey
39. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by by Julia Rawlinson
40. Sleep Tight Farm by Eugenie Doyle 
41. Because of an Acorn by Lola and Adam Schaefer 
42. By the Light of the Harvest Moon by Harriet Ziefert
43. The Thank you Book by Mary Lyn Ray
44. Winter is Coming by Tony Johnston
45. Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf
46. Pick a Pine Tree by Patricia Toht
47. The Little Reindeer by Nicola Killen
48. Wish Tree by Kyo Maclear 
49.  Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Noble
50. Goodbye Autumn, Hello Winter by Kenard Pak
51. Once Upon a Snow Storm by Richard Johnson
52. When the Snow Falls by Linda Booth Sweeney

What is your favorite picture books for kids?

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