Our Favourite Outdoor Play Books with Faire Child

We have a certain relative, who whenever we visit, almost always has something to say about the weather. "What a gloomy day." "I wish it would stop raining so I could go out." "Boy, is it nasty out." "It's too cold to go for a walk." "Will it ever stop snowing?" I'm not sure that I ever really noticed it before, but now that I have children and am so mindful of my own language about the weather, I'm highly sensitive to it and cringe a little at every new complaint. In my more dramatic moods, I've imagined diving across the room to cover the poor innocent ears of my child - but instead, I try to keep it light with a casual counter-comment like "We don't mind the rain" or "We'll just need to wear our warmest mittens!"







To my child - and I think the same is true for most children - there is still no such thing as bad weather - she's truly happy to get outdoors no matter the weather - and I'd love to keep it that way as long as possible. A few months ago I shared how we can tackle the seasons, rain or shine (or snow!) when we dress appropriately for the weather. All autumn and winter long we used Faire Child's rain pants to keep dry while building snow forts, making snow angels and sliding down icy mountains - and now that spring is here, we are doing the same, along with her rain jacket, to keep dry as we head outdoors in this rainy, muddy season.

Faire Child had the lovely idea of teaming up to share some favourite outdoor children's books, specifically ones that foster a love for the weather in all seasons. I wanted to share a few titles that felt appropriate for this season of rain, puddles and mud.






Singing in the Rain Based on the song by Arthur Freed and Nacio Herb Brown
The text in this book is from the popular song Singing in the Rain, with vibrant illustrations by Tim Hopgood of children (in a rainbow of bright coloured rain gear and umbrellas) enjoying raindrops and puddles with smiles on their faces. It immediately makes us want to get out into the rain!



Rain by Sam Usher
A young boy wakes up to rain, and is eager to get outdoors - but his granddad thinks it would be best to wait until the rain stops. As the boy waits and waits and waits for the rain to stop, he imagines up an incredible world, that eventually takes his granddad and him on an amazing adventure out in the rain and puddles.


Rain or Shine by Robert Heuninck
This wordless board book with beautiful, colourful illustrations, follows children throughout the year, enjoying playing outdoors in all the seasons, in all kinds of weather.





Rain! by Linda Ashman
A sweet little story that shows two opposite points of view of the same rainy day. An elderly gentleman who grumbles about the wet, and a child in a bright green frog rain jacket who welcomes every puddle with a smile. This simple book (with the most charming illustrations by Christian Robinson) shares how our attitude towards weather (and life!) changes how we experience it.


Spring by Gerda Muller
A wordless board book depicting beautifully illustrated scenes from spring - walks in the rain, puddle jumping, plants growing from the moist earth.




When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes
The perfect book for when you've nearly reached the end of a long, cold winter, and are patiently waiting for spring to arrive. I love the rhythm of the text in this book, of the hope it brings from the expecting season and all the exciting things to come - green grass, leaves on trees, flowers. Our favourite lines that we often repeat to each other are on a page depicting some children outdoors on a rainy day: "Do you like rain? Do you like mud? I hope you like umbrellas." There's something about those words that just make us smile every time - I guess because we just love a good rainy day!

More book recommendations for all the seasons:

Spring
Up in the Garden, Down in the Dirt by Kate Messner
Sidewalk Flowers by JonArno Lawson
Weeds Find a Way by Cindy Jenson-Elliot
And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano

Summer
Summer by Gerda Muller
Over and Under the Pond by Kate Messner
The Golden Glow by Benjamin Flouw

Autumn
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kernard Pak
The Story of the Wind Children by Sybille Von Olfers
Autumn by Gerda Muller

Winter
The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats
Winter by Gerda Muller
Over and Under the Snow by Kate Messner
The Story of the Snow Children by Sybille Von Olfers

All Seasons
A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies
Around The Year by Elsa Beskow
Nature's Day by Kay Maguire and Danielle Kroll
Children of the Forest by Elsa Beskow
A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard



This post is in collaboration with Faire Child, who gifted us a raincoat and rain pants. This post also contains some affiliate links in partnership with Amazon.ca. All thoughts, opinions and run-on sentences expressed here are my own.