Spring is just around the corner and with it comes warmth, flowers, rain, and sunshine. And don’t forget about doing some school work outside!
We hope you enjoy these book recommendations from American Heritage School Worldwide. Please leave us a comment with one of your family’s favorite March books. We’d love to hear from you!
(Books listed include links and summary from Amazon)
Spring
First published in the 1920s, Cicely Mary Barker’s original Flower Fairies books have been loved for generations. Like the pre-Raphaelite painters whom she so admired, Barker believed in re-creating the beauty of nature in art and drawing from life. Her Flower Fairies watercolors have a unique combination of naturalism and fantasy that no imitators have matched. This book features poems and full-color illustrations of over 20 flowers and their guardian fairies.
As days stretch longer, animals creep out from their warm dens, and green begins to grow again, everyone knows―spring is on its way!
Join a boy and his dog as they explore nature and take a stroll through the countryside, greeting all the signs of the coming season. In a series of conversations with everything from the melting brook to chirping birds, they say goodbye to winter and welcome the lushness of spring.
Wilfred woke early. It was his birthday. He had lots of lovely presents, but the best one was a surprise… Mr Apple had organized a secret celebration picnic and all the mice of Brambly Hedge were invited.
There was so much to carry. Poor Wilfred got very tired as he lurched and bumped his way along the grassy track. What was it Mrs Apple had said was in his hamper? Knives? Sandwiches? They were certainly heavy!
When they finally arrived, Wilfred was allowed to open up the hamper and there he found the best treat of all…
An engaging and charming true rescue story illustrated by a Christopher Award winner!
Early one morning, Mama Duck takes her babies for a walk. They follow safely behind her as they leave their pond, waddle through the park, and stop in the little sunlit town’s parking lot for yummy breakfast. But one by one, Mama’s little ducklings get separated when they disappear into the slats of the town’s storm drain. How three firemen and a pickup truck rush to their rescue makes for a vivid and exciting drama that children will return to over and over again.
A Vietnamese girl plants six lima beans in a Cleveland vacant lot. Looking down on the immigrant-filled neighborhood, a Romanian woman watches suspiciously. A school janitor gets involved, then a Guatemalan family. Then muscle-bound Curtis, trying to win back Lateesha. Pregnant Maricela. Amir from India. A sense of community sprouts and spreads.
Newbery-winning author Paul Fleischman uses thirteen speakers to bring to life a community garden’s founding and first year. The book’s short length, diverse cast, and suitability for adults as well as children have led it to be used in countless one-book reads in schools and in cities across the country.
Pi Day
This time the math adventure is centered around a potion that changes Sir Cumference into a fire-breathing dragon. Can Radius change him back? Join Radius on his quest through the castle to solve a riddle that will reveal the cure. It lies in discovering the magic number that is the same for all circles.
Perfect for parent and teachers who are looking to make math fun and accessible for everyone.
Saint Patrick’s Day
St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning by Eve Bunting
Jamie seeks a way to prove that he is not too young to march in the big St. Patrick’s Day parade. See how he overcomes low expectations and feels empowered!
This timeless picture book is a perfect introduction to important Irish legends.
Beloved children’s book author-illustrator Tomie dePaola recounts the life of Saint Patrick—from his noble birth in Britain, to his captivity in Ireland, to the visions which led him to return and found the first Christian church in Ireland.
With his signature bold illustrations and engaging prose, Tomie dePaola recounts a number of legends about the Saint—including the well-known story of how he drove the snakes from Ireland, and his association with the shamrock.
An Irish family stays together with the help of Fiona’s talent for making one-of-a-kind lace in this heartwarming immigration story from the Patricia Polacco.
Many years ago, times were hard in all of Ireland, so when passage to America becomes available, Fiona and her family travel to Chicago. They find work in domestic service to pay back their passage, and at night Fiona turns tangles of thread into a fine, glorious lace. Then when the family is separated, it is the lace that Fiona’s parents follow to find her and her sister and bring the family back together. And it is the lace that will always provide Fiona with memories of Ireland and of her mother’s words: “In your heart your true home resides, and it will always be with you as long as you remember those you love.”
When the fiercest giant in all of Ireland comes knocking at his door, what can peaceful Fin M’Coul do to escape him?
Fin M’Coul lives atop windy Knockmany Hill, and spends his days with the other giants of Ireland, moving huge stones to build a causeway to Scotland. But one morning, he hears a rumor that Cucullin, the strongest giant in the land, is coming to find and fight him.
Fleeing home, Fin tells his wife of his worries. But clever Oonagh the giantess has a plan— with her wits and her skills and her magic charms, she sets out to trick Cucullin and save her husband.
Full of humor and charm, Tomie dePaola’s retelling of this classic fable is boldly illustrated, with detailed borders based on ancient Irish metalwork.
