BB: When Spring Comes - Ages 0+

Watch the world transform when spring comes! In a starred review, School Library Journal called this delightful picture book “A must-have, joyful seasonal title for the youngest listeners.”

In this beautiful board book for young children, Caldecott Medalist and Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes uses striking imagery, repetition, and alliteration to introduce basic concepts of language and the changing of the seasons. And acclaimed artist Laura Dronzek’s gorgeous, lush paintings show the transformation from quiet, cold winter to the newborn spring.

Before spring comes, the trees are dark sticks, the grass is brown, and the ground is covered in snow. But if you wait, leaves unfurl and flowers blossom, the grass turns green, and the mounds of snow shrink and shrink. Spring brings baby birds, sprouting seeds, rain and mud, and puddles. You can feel it and smell it and hear it—and you can read it!

In a starred review, The Horn Book said, “This joyful reflection is as welcome as spotting the first brave crocus.”

In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, When Spring Comes, and Summer Song make for a beautiful quartet of seasonal-theme picture books to share at home or in the classroom. Ideal for introducing the season, for story time, and for bedtime reading.

Kevin Henkes is the author of Junonia, Sun & Spoon, Bird Lake Moon, and the Newbery Honor Books The Year of Billy Miller and Olive's Ocean. He also writes and illustrates picture books, and among his many titles are the national bestsellers Little White Rabbit, My Garden, Old Bear, A Good Day, and Kitten's First Full Moon, for which he was awarded the Caldecott Medal. Mr. Henkes is also the creator of a series of books starring mouse characters, including the Penny books for beginning readers, Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, Chrysanthemum, and Owen, for which he was awarded a Caldecott Honor. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Laura Dronzek is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally. Her picture books include Moonlight, by Helen V. Griffith; It Is Night, by Phyllis Rowand; and White Is for Blueberry, by George Shannon.