[For 4-Year-Olds] Recommended Spring Picture Books | Engaging with the World and Friends

Last updated:2025/3/13

Nursery Teacher Mom Writertsukada moe
After working for five years at an after-school childcare club and three years at a nursery school, I began working as a freelance writer. I’m a mother of two children. Inspired by playing the flute in the school wind ensemble in elementary school, I joined a jazz club at university. I’ve also incorporated ukulele and piano performance into childcare. Playing, laughing, feeling sad, feeling frustrated—through all kinds of experiences, I want children to grow.

Children in the 4-year-old class grapple with many things every day—what’s happening around them, their friends, and their own feelings.

Because this is a time of fluctuation, let’s show them new worlds through picture books.

This time, we’ve gathered picture books perfect for reading with four-year-olds in spring.

In addition to works with spring-like motifs, we’re also introducing books that help children reflect on and reconsider their relationships with others and with themselves.

Let’s let them fully savor the world of picture books with their flexible minds and hearts.

It’s okay if feelings of meanness or the urge to quarrel begin to sprout.

Please stay by their side together with picture books.

[For 4-Year-Olds] Recommended Picture Books for Spring | Engaging with the World and Friends (1–10)

I really hate you.Janice May Udry / Illustrations: Maurice Sendak

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I’d like to introduce the picture book “I Don’t Like You at All,” which portrays two boys who have a fight and then make up.

The way it captures children’s shifting emotions and how they vent that “I’m mad!” feeling is so childlike that adults will surely find it adorable.

But children may see themselves in it and think, “I don’t like fighting.” Even close friends aren’t always having fun, right? Still, because these two are such good friends, even when they fight, they still love each other—and they make up right away!

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Three moms and three lunchboxesText: Kuku Suchin / Illustrations: Mariko Saito

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Three Moms and Three Lunchboxes is a Korean picture book.

It features three busy mothers living in the same apartment building who are making packed lunches for their children going on a field trip.

The book doesn’t just show the lunch-making—it vividly portrays the mothers’ daily lives, so children may find themselves thinking, “Moms have it this tough….” In the story, the mothers receive springtime souvenirs, which warms the heart all over again.

Kids might even want to imitate them and give little gifts themselves.

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Doll Festival in the ForestKoide Yasuko

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Let me introduce a perfect book for Hinamatsuri: “Mori no Hinamatsuri” (The Doll Festival in the Forest).

For Hinamatsuri, we display hina dolls, right? In this picture book, those dolls go into the forest and join the mice’s Doll Festival party.

They sing, dance, and play instruments, and everyone has a wonderful time together.

But on the way home it starts to snow, and the dolls end up in tatters.

Don’t worry though! A grandmother mouse fixes their makeup and kimono beautifully.

Children will surely be captivated by the dolls’ expressions and appearances they’ve never seen before.

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In the ForestMarie Hall Ets

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The picture book “In the Forest” charms readers with a delightful story about a boy carrying a horn who takes a walk through the woods, followed by a line of animals.

Lions, elephants, bears, kangaroos, and other animals familiar to children all make an appearance.

The way they trail after him in single file is adorable, and it makes you wonder what kind of cheerful sound the boy is playing.

After the walk comes a game of hide-and-seek: the boy is ‘it,’ and the animals hide.

Spring is the season when animals awaken from hibernation.

Wouldn’t it be fun to play together like this?

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The Little Sparrow’s AdventureText by Ruth Ainsworth / Illustrations by Seiichi Horiuchi

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“The Little Sparrow’s Adventure” is the story of a small sparrow practicing how to fly who feels an urge to go much farther than its mother allowed—and sets off on a grand adventure.

The little sparrow is moved by the sights it sees for the first time, but it grows tired along the way and tries to rest its wings in a nest it finds.

However, there are various birds there who ask, “Can you chirp like ◯◯?” Because its call is different, they won’t let it in.

Eventually, it can’t fly anymore.

So how will the sparrow make it home? Children will surely empathize with the sparrow, feeling their hearts race and a pang of loneliness.

The final scene of parent and child is deeply touching—highly recommended.

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Mayu and RyuText by Yoko Tomiyasu / Illustrations by Nana Furiya

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Let me introduce the picture book Mayu and the Dragon, in which a girl named Mayu meets a dragon child.

The dragons come from the sky.

The first to arrive is a big dragon, but Mayu notices a small dragon peeking out.

They become friends, and the little dragon lets her ride on its back.

The view from the sky is very dynamic.

Along the way, they spot things that resemble the dragon, and the dragon even makes it rain.

Taking a stroll on a dragon’s back sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? It’s a dreamy picture book that also lets you feel the shift of the seasons from winter to spring.

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