What to Read: Children’s Books About Trees

Looking for books about trees to share with your children? Good news: I’ve got some great tree books to tell you about today!

What to Read: Children's Books About Trees

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I’ve enjoyed most of these with my kiddos, but there are a few that are new to me. There’s also a good mix of picture books and nonfiction reading. Regardless of what you’re looking for today, you’ll find some great books about trees to help you learn with your kids.

Children’s Books About Trees

Before we jump into these books about trees, keep in mind that the links in the overviews below all lead to Amazon. If you prefer to support local bookstores through your purchases, see my Bookshop.org list. It has nearly all of the recommendations below, plus several extras not covered here.

1. Trees, Leaves, & Bark

Trees, Leaves, and Bark from the Young Naturalist Field Guides/Take Along Guides series is a great place to start if you’re looking for books about trees. It highlights 15 North American trees and includes illustrations and details about the seeds, leaves, bark, lifespan, and locations of each one. Not only is it a great reference guide for kids, it also includes four tree-themed activities for nature study fun.

2. National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer Field Guide: Trees

As much as I love living books, sometimes it’s nice to have books that offer great photos and snippets of information on hand. That’s where this Ultimate Explorer Field Guide comes in. It’s visually engaging, but better yet, it’s ideal for using outdoors. It’s small enough to fit into a pocket, backpack, or other bag, which makes it a convenient addition to any collection of nature books.

3. The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups

The Tree Book for Kids and Their Grown-Ups profiles 33 North American trees. It answers common questions about those trees and features lovely watercolor illustrations.

4. I Can Name 50 Trees Today

A part of The Cat in the Hat’s Learning Library, I Can Name 50 Trees Today is a great place to start learning about trees, especially if your kiddos like to connect with well-known characters. In typical Seussical-style, it’s a great introduction to trees and identifies 50 different North American tree species.

5. Tall Tall Tree

Tall Tall Tree is a fun one to read with younger kiddos. It’s similar to The Busy Tree, but it’s a peek at all the life in a tall redwood tree and has a fun counting element in the text.

6. The Busy Tree

Looking for picture book that explores life in and around a tree? The Busy Tree is a great choice. It pairs great illustrations with fun, rhyming text and tells all that’s happening in the life of a tree, from the roots to the branches.

7. Sky Tree

Sky Tree is one of my favorite books about trees. It focuses on one tree and shows how that tree and its surroundings change from day to night and season to season. It’s truly a beautiful depiction of nature science in action.

8. The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree

I love how simply but effectively The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree showcases the changes experienced from season to season. Rather than focusing on the fruit of an apple tree only, it tells the story of a boy and how his relationship with the tree changes with each season.

Books about Trees & Bookshop.org

You can support small businesses by shopping this list through Bookshop.org. You’ll find most of these titles, plus some extras waiting for you there.

9. Arbor Day Square

Arbor Day Square is a lovely way to tell the story of Arbor Day and highlight trees and the difference they make over time. It’s about a town full of people settling into life in the prairie. Tree by tree, what starts off as a dusty town square becomes a lush green community for generations to come.

10. Tree Lady

Part biography, part inspirational story, The Tree Lady tells the story of trailblazer Kate Sessions and how she led the movement to shift San Diego from a desert town to the green garden city it’s known as today.

11. We Planted a Tree

We Planted a Tree is perfect for engaging little ones with the mission of planting trees. The text on each page is minimal — nice for shorter attention spans! — and the illustrations are super fun and colorful.

12. Wangari’s Trees of Peace

I love Wangari’s Trees of Peace a little more each time I read it with my kids. It’s the true story of Nobel Peace Prize Winner Wangari Maathai and how she impacted her tree-stripped Kenyan village.

I also love Mama Miti: Wangari Maathai and the Trees of Kenya. It’s a stunningly beautiful book and another great option for exploring this story.

13. Tell Me Tree

Gail Gibbons’ Tell Me Tree is full of engaging illustrations and provides a great overview of trees, how they grow, characteristics, and several different species. It also includes fun instructions for a tree identification project.

14. Because of an Acorn

Because of an Acorn is a unique one in this list of tree books in the sense that it starts with the tree’s beginning and then shows how it grows and impacts life all around it.

15. A Tree Grows Up

The vivid pictures do most of the talking in A Tree Grows Up. These photos combined with simple text explain the stages of a tree’s growth in a way younger kids can understand.

16. Learning About Trees

Another good choice for tots and preschoolers, Learning About Trees is a short book that introduces kids to different types of trees.

17. A Tree Is Nice

Caldecott winner A Tree Is Nice is a nice to-the-point book for reminding young children of all the reasons to appreciate trees. Here’s an excerpt:

A tree is nice because it has a trunk and limbs. We can climb the tree and see over all the yards. We can sit on a limb and think about things. Or play pirate ship up in the tree.”

18. Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them

Many of us are familiar with specific species like oak, maple, and cedar, but how many of us know the story of individual trees? Strange Trees: And the Stories Behind Them is a great way to rectify that! It highlights several bizarre trees from around the world and is definitely not your typical tree book. ;)

19. Mrs. Peanuckle’s Tree Alphabet

Need a tree book for the little learners? With its playful text and cheery illustrations, Mrs. Peanuckle’s Tree Alphabet is a fun board book that highlights one tree for every letter of the alphabet.

20. The Things That I LOVE About TREES

I haven’t read The Things That I LOVE About TREES yet, but I’m looking forward to it. Just released in 2018, it goes from season to season to explore all there is to love about trees. Also worth noting, the illustrations look gorgeous. I can’t wait to check it out!


Looking for more help studying trees with your kiddos? Delightful Deciduous Trees from NatureExplorers is the way to go!

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