April is a great time to discuss and explore trees because of Arbor Day, but really you can do this any time of the year. This post shares Arbor Day books that you can use for this purpose. All of the picture books on this list lend themselves to this topic really well. Take a peek below to learn more about these Arbor Day books!
4 Arbor Day Books
Below is a list of some of our favorite Arbor Day books to share with elementary students. Check them out!
1. Little Tree by Loren Long
Little Tree lives in a forest surrounded by other trees. He enjoys hearing the morning dove sing and the squirrels climbing his branches. When fall comes, the trees’ leaves start to change color. Eventually, the other trees begin to drop their leaves. Little Tree holds onto his leaves tight, he is nervous about what will happen when he drops his leaves. Little Tree keeps his leaves through the winter. When spring comes, the other trees start to grow new leaves, while Little Tree keeps his old, brown leaves.
The seasons continue to change and Little Tree keeps his original leaves. The other trees have grown big and strong. The squirrels and morning dove sit in their branches. Little Tree is still very small and can no longer feel the sunlight. He remembers how he used to be the same as the other trees. When he finally begins to let go of his leaves, Little Tree is able to grow and change like the others.
Check out these Little Tree teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
2. The Tree Lady by Joseph Hopkins
H. Joseph Hopkin’s book, The Tree Lady, is a biography of Katherine Olivia Sessions. It tells the story of how Kate became known as the Mother of Balboa Park, located in San Diego.
Kate grew up in Northern California and loved being in the woods under the trees. Unlike other girls at the time, Kate liked to get her hands dirty and study science. She even went to college to study science and was the first woman to graduate from that school.
After graduating, Kate moved to San Diego and became a teacher. San Diego was very different than anywhere Kate had lived before. There were no trees and it was a very dry landscape. After a few years of teaching, Kate decided to become a gardener. She made it her mission to bring trees to San Diego. Kate began collecting trees that could grow in San Diego. She wrote letters to gardeners around the world asking for seeds. Soon, there were trees all over San Diego and people were even planting them in their yards.
When a big exposition was coming to San Diego, it was decided the park, Balboa Park, needed more trees for shade. Kate worked to plant trees all over the park. People couldn’t believe the lush park that had been created. Her work planting all the trees made her known as “The Mother of Balboa Park.”
This biography will teach students all about Kate whose love of trees changed the city of San Diego.
Check out these The Tree Lady teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
3. Stuck by Chris Grabenstein
The story Stuck is about a boy named Floyd who gets his kite stuck in a tree. He throws many different items into the tree trying to get the kite out. Everything he throws gets stuck in the tree and the kite still doesn’t come out.
Eventually, Floyd has the idea to throw a saw into the tree. This final item knocks the kite out. Unfortunately, Floyd forgets about everything else that was stuck in the tree.
Check out these Stuck teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
4. The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein
The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein is a classic children’s book about a tree who gives everything to a boy who grows up to be a man. Through a simple yet profound message, the book teaches children about the power of love and selflessness.
Check out these The Giving Tree teaching resources and activities to help you plan and deliver highly engaging read aloud lessons!
Get All of the Arbor Day Book Activities!
Scoop up all of the activity packets based on the picture books featured in this post!
Or Get All of the Activity Packets for 600+ Picture Books!
Starts with a Story is a collection of hundreds of book companions based on high quality children’s literature that support you in delivering highly-engaging interactive read alouds with follow up activities. Each book companion includes:
- reading comprehension questions with sample student responses
- 30 writing prompts targeting 10 different types of writing
- SEL lesson ideas based on character and events from each story
- printable student activities
- editable teaching slides with book-based clipart
- and more.
Learn how to get unlimited access to all 600+ book companion packets below!
Teachers Love these Other Arbor Day Activities for Kids
We have lots of Arbor Day activities you can use in your classroom. Check out the blog post Arbor Day Activities for Kids to get more ideas and teaching resources!
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One Last Thing Before You Go… Grab this Free Reading Resource!
If you want to get more book ideas to read aloud to your elementary students, then grab this reading freebie for 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grade classroom teachers. It includes:
- seasonal read aloud books lists for teachers
- printable reading logs to track students’ reading
- monthly reading challenges to motivate students to read more
It will have you covered for the entire school year, as well as the summer months! Grab this free elementary reading packet now!
In closing, we hope you found this list of Arbor Day books helpful! If you are a member of Starts With a Story, you have access to all of these book companion activities. Lastly, you may also be interested in these spring books for kids if you love read alouds like us!
