Spring Books In Speech Therapy

I have some great spring themed books and wanted to share how I use them with my speech students. I know there are many to choose from, but I want literature that goes deeper than just “cute stories.” We have limited time with students, especially in a school setting, so we MUST make choices with rich vocabulary and strategic language goals. Download the free bookmarks to go along with each book I’m highlighting! This post contains Amazon affiliate links if you wish to add any books to your personal library.

Although this post focuses on goals to target WHILE reading, make sure to check out my post on evidence-based, pre-reading strategies to implement before you even open the book!

Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms by Julia Rawlinson

I LOVE this author. This story is exquisitely illustrated and Fletcher is as sweet as ever trying to take care of his friends.
Language goals I use it for:

-Sequencing: there is a specific order of animals he sees as he warns them about the “snow”

-Social/Emotional

-Vocabulary

-Figurative Language

Up In The Garden, Down In The Dirt by Kate Messner

Kids love crawly bugs! The vocabulary is rich and the text is full of opportunities to discuss how all living things serve a purpose to us.

Language goals I use it for:

-Vocabulary

-Story Recall

-Figurative Language

-Writing Prompts

Too Many Carrots by Katy Hudson

This cute book is great for social scenarios and a great opportunity for discussing putting others before yourself & being a good friend as well as problem/resolution topics.

Language goals I use it for:

-Vocabulary

-Social/Emotional

-Story Recall

-Sequencing

The Night Gardener by The Fan Brothers

Something about this book is captivating and mesmerizing. The detailed sketched illustrations throughout tell their own story and provide as much to discuss as the text itself. It’s truly like no other book I’ve seen. The opportunities to discuss setting and mood are ideal.

Language goals I use it for:

-Vocabulary

-Inference

-Character traits/development

-Story recall

-Writing Prompts

Bear Wants More by Karma Wilson

Who doesn’t love Bear books? I probably have all of them. He’s just so lovable and he has such devoted friends. I love discussing “community” with my students with these books.

Language goals I use it for:

-Story Recall

-Sequencing

-Compare/contrast

-Vocabulary

-Synonyms and Homonyms

Bee: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Techentrup

Bees get a bad rap, but boy do we need them! A great “science-y” book that has phenomenal tier 2 and 3 vocabulary!

Language goals I use it for:
-Vocabulary (hue, dense, trace, burs…)

-Figurative Language

-Synonyms

-Writing Prompts

-Story Recall

When Spring Comes by Kevin Henkes

Language goals I use it for:

-Syntax: great use of complex sentence structure throughout

– Compare/Contrast: this book perfectly describes the differences we see/hear/feel in winter vs. spring

– Describing and EET

– Categories: sort items for winter and spring

I’d love to share these spring language bookmarks with you!

Garden by Anna Milbourne

This is a great little Usborne board book for younger kids. If you are working on positional concepts, this is your book! So many opportunities in this lift-a-flap book to work on describing skills.

language concepts I use it for:

-verbs: fluttering, scampers, buzzing, collecting, diving, pulling, nibbling, munching, clambers

-onomatopoeia: (a middle school concept!) squeak, buzz, munch, nibble – these sound words would be fun to act out!

-positional words: around, under, beside, behind, etc.

-sequencing: the order of the animals in the story that the mouse came across (use photos to review order or manipulatives like these or these).

-categories: sort out things in a garden vs. other places (farm, ocean, etc.)

Click the link below to download *use a personal email! Sometimes school emails don’t work as well for some reason: