Spring Forward: 15 Children’s Books About New Beginnings
by Devon A. Corneal
From icicles to pussy willows and snowbanks to green lawns, spring is a time of renewal. But new beginnings happen all the time, not just when winter begins to thaw. That’s why we’ve collected a few fabulous books that celebrate overcoming obstacles, trying new things, adopting new perspectives, starting over, and remembering that we are always changing and growing no matter what time of year it is.
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Picture Books
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Green Eggs and Ham
Available from:This may be the ultimate book about trying something new, as millions of children have discovered. Who cares if the grouchy egg-hater only agrees to take a bite of a new food after lots of cajoling and some pretty strange rhymes?
(Ages 3 - 7)
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I’m a Duck
Available from:This little duckling is too afraid to even try to swim! Thankfully, with some encouragement from his friends, love from his mother, and lots of practice, he finally takes a deep breath and dives right in.
(Ages 3 - 7)
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This Zoo Is Not For You
Platypus discovers that trying to find a new home can be a challenge, especially if no one wants you. But when some snobby zoo animals have a change of heart, he also discovers it’s never too late to make a first impression.
(Ages 3 - 7)
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The Book of Mistakes
Available from:In art, maybe, there is no such thing as a mistake. In fact, a mistake can lead to a beautiful new image. Come read along as one creative journey changes with each unintended stroke of a pen or swipe of a brush.
(Ages 4 - 8)
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Carmela Full of Wishes
Available from:In this instant bestseller, Carmela is experiencing quite literal growth: it's her birthday, and she's finally old enough to travel around the neighborhood with just her big brother. The creators of Last Stop on Market Street bring Carmela's Spanish-speaking community to life and show Carmela bonding with her sibling, participating in her community, and making wishes for the future.
(Ages 4 - 8)
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The Bug Girl
Available from:Based on a true and heartwarming story, The Bug Girl is co-authored by fourth-grader Sophia Spencer, who's loved bugs as far back as she can remember. When her peers started bullying Sophia for her interests, women scientists rallied around her in droves, creating the hashtag #BugsR4Girls. Readers can learn so much from Sophia's example - not the least of which is that insects are amazing!
(Ages 4 - 8)
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Drawn from Nature
Available from:Every season is a beginning, and author and illustrator Helen Ahpornsiri makes each new phase of the year breathtakingly glorious with detailed mosaic-like illustrations and interesting facts about plants, animals, and the weather and how they change from one month to the next.
(Ages 6 - 9)
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The Secret Kingdom: Nek Chand, a Changing India, and a Hidden World of Art
Available from:If you could create a secret kingdom, hidden from the world, and filled with the most beautiful things you could imagine, what would it look like? Nek Chand did exactly that in India and you’ll be astounded by what he built with things no one else wanted.
(Ages 7 - 10)
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Middle Grade
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The Science of Breakable Things
Available from:Broken things can be mended and transformed — even people. At least, that’s what Natalie is determined to prove by using the scientific process to help her mother overcome her depression.
(Ages 8 - 12)
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The Miscalculations of Lightning Girl
Available from:Math is supposed to make everything simple. It follows clear rules and there is always a right and a wrong answer. But even with her genius math abilities, Lucy can’t avoid the more complicated things in life. Like middle school.
(Ages 8 - 12)
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Just Under the Clouds
Being homeless isn’t easy. Cora knows. Being a family isn’t easy either — people die and struggle and make mistakes. But there’s always a way to a brighter future if you keep your focus and stick together.
(Ages 8 - 12)
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My Life as an Ice Cream Sandwich
Available from:In 1984, Ebony-Grace is in for the change of her life when she's uprooted from her grandfather's home in Alabama to live with her father in bustling Harlem. Though Ebony-Grace's first instinct is to retreat into her imagination - her grandfather, a former NASA engineer, instilled in her a love for outer space and science fiction - she begins to see how Harlem might become home after all.
(Ages 10+)
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Middle School’s a Drag, You Better Werk!
Available from:Twelve-year-old Mikey has an entrepreneurial spirit, so it's no surprise that eighth-grader Julian Vasquez (drag queen name: Coco Caliente, Mistress of Madness and Mayhem) taps Mikey to be his new agent. Soon, Mikey's talent agency is buzzing with clients as the school talent show looms. But it's not just running a business that Mikey learns about: with Julian being openly gay at school, Mikey starts to wonder if he, too, can show his true colors.
(Ages 10+)
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Hope in the Holler
Wavie has had a tough time since her mother passed away, but things are going to get a lot harder when she is sent to live with some unpleasant relatives in the small Appalachian town her mother desperately wanted to escape. However, Wavie is resilient and, remembering the lessons her mother taught her, determined to bravely forge ahead into a new life that she controls.
(Ages 10+)
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Lucky Broken Girl
Available from:Our bodies are constantly changing: growing, adapting, healing. And so it is with Ruthie Mizrahi who has to reinvent her life when a car accident leaves her in a full-body cast and she has to find a way to participate in the world around her when she can’t leave her bed.
(Ages 10+)
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