Ultimate Children’s Book List for All Things Up in the Tree

Ultimate List of Children's Books for Preschoolers about Up in the Trees including #picturebooks about #trees #squirrels #birds #treehouses and more

Trees are a fascinating part of the natural world pretty much no matter where you live. What lives or grows in the trees in your part of the world will vary but to children they are almost always a source of fascination.

The birds, the fruit, the changing leaves, the chipmunks and squirrels or whatever else you find in your trees is the theme of this book list and this month’s A Read A Day challenge.

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Ultimate List of Children's Books for Preschoolers about Up in the Trees including #picturebooks about #trees #squirrels #birds #treehouses and more

20+ Children’s Books about Up in the Tree

To make this list as useful as possible I have divided it into categories – books about the trees themselves, books about birds, etc.

My thought was that depending on what part of this theme was most interesting to you and your child you could skip to those books. You will however find that the printable is in alphabetical order by the author’s last name to make searching for books at the library a little quicker.

Read Also: The Life Changing Library Hack for Busy Moms

Books about Trees

There are a million books, I doubt I’m exaggerating, written about trees for kids. Trees in the Fall are a particularly big subject. I don’t want to take this list over with Tree books, but I also felt odd talking about Up In The Tree without sharing a couple about the tree itself so here are my absolute favorites.

As An Oak Tree Grows

By G. Brian Karas

There is something about the books that Karas creates that just speaks to me. I adore them. This one shows the world changing over the course of two hundred years from the perspective of a tree. As a history fan, I love watching an area transform. I also love the gorgeous illustrations and the unique perspective.

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Tap the Magic Tree

by Christie Matheson

This one is pretty much the complete opposite of the one above, but it is a favorite in our house as well. This fun book encourages kids to interact with the pages to help a tree change with the seasons. Perfect for toddlers and up. This series of books also inspired this Tap the Magic Tree Scavenger Hunt.

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Up in the Tree

by Margaret Atwood

I coudn’t not include this one – given our theme and the title. This one was written decades ago and went out of print, but has since been recreated to capture all the original charm for a new generation.

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Trees

by Tony Johnston
illustrated by Tiffany Bozic

The stunning artwork steals the show in this book. TREES clearly communicates a love of trees. Easy to read aloud and did I mention gorgeous?

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One Million Trees
by Kristen Balouch

Based on the author’s experiences, ONE MILLION TREES is about a trip to British Columbia that her family took to help plant one million trees. It is full of French words, math happening in real life, the animals of British Columbia, and, of course, information about trees. If you focused on the large text on the page, this could be used as a read aloud. I think it works better one on one or with a smaller group of kids where you can really dive into all of the content. For homeschoolers, this is also a fun example of life without traditional school.

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Pop-Up Forest
by Fleur Daugey, Bernard Duisit, Tom Vaillant

Obviously the pop-up illustrations are a huge draw. They are gorgeous. But, if you come for the pop-up illustrations, stay for the deeply informative text. These pages hold history, mythology, science and more. It is a fascinating look at trees around the world and how people interact with them. I’d recommend this one to have one your shelf for older elementary schoolers.

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Books about Things That Grow on Trees

Apples, coconuts, lemons, and more grow on trees around the world. I would LOVE to add to this part of the list so if you have a great book about things that grow on trees please comment at the bottom!

Apples and Robins

by Lucie Felix

With simple shapes and bold colors, Felix transforms one thing into another in this extraordinary book. It’s truly a work of art and yet completely appealing to kids.

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Also Read: Book Inspired Apple Picking Read and Make

Chicka Chicka Boom Boom

Written by Bill Martin Jr. and John Archambault
Illustrated by Lois Ehlert

This is a classic book for toddlers and preschoolers. It is a fun alphabet book – and song – you can watch it on YouTube if you aren’t sure how to sing it. It also happens to be about coconuts and palm trees.

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Lemons are Not Red

By Laura Vaccaro Seeger

I have this secret desire to have a lemon tree in my backyard. That’s not what this book is about, but it’s definitely what motivated me to add some lemon books to this list. This is a great book for preschoolers who are learning about colors.

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The Red Lemon

by Bob Staake

Comical book about a farmer who finds a red lemon on his beloved lemon trees. Whimsical but bold illustrations.

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Acorn Was a Little Wild

by Jen Arena
illustrated by Jessica Gibson

ACORN WAS A LITTLE WILD stars the cutest little acorn. Acorn has a wild side and zero fear, something many kids can relate to. His wild side gets him into a little trouble, but ultimately shows the life cycle of a tree as he transforms into an oak. A playful story that personalizes this natural process with fun animal characters and lots of action. 

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Read Also: Resources for Raising Readers

Books about Birds

This is another well established category in the Up in the Tree children’s book category. Birds are what drew my kids into this topic. They are fascinated by birds, frequently shushing me when we’re in the backyard so we can quietly watch a bird until it flitters on it’s way. There are so many wonderful bird books, but these are the favorites we have purchased for our home library.

Every Day Birds 

Written by Amy Ludwig VanDerwater
Cut Paper Illustrations by Dylan Metrano

If you are looking for a simple guide to common birds for kids this is completely perfect. With a brief descriptive poem and paper cut illustrations, this book walks you through twenty North American birds. The poetic language moves the book along and makes this nonfiction an excellent read aloud choice.

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Robins

By Eileen Christelow

Two birds share the story of their first five months. I enjoyed the way this story was told. There are bits that are honest but a bit alarming, primarily when one of the robin eggs gets eaten by a squirrel. These are necessary for a good nonfiction story about the early life of birds, but between that and the length I would recommend this for kindergarten and up. Otherwise, Christelow illustrates this book with her gentle style and shares a fascinating tale about the animals that most kids find in their own backyards.

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Birds by Kevin HenkesBirds

Written by Kevin Henkes
Illustrated by Laura Dronzek

A simple book about birds from one of my favorite authors. Brief text and colorful illustrations that is perfect for the youngest toddlers. A great starting point for developing vocabulary about birds.

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Mama Built a Little Nest by Jennifer Ward

Mama Built a Little Nest

Written by Jennifer Ward
Illustrated by Steve Jenkins

Nests are as diverse as the birds who make them. Cacti and grass, holes and trees. This book takes a much deeper look at how birds protect their young in many creative and different ways. Illustrated with clear, colorful images by the amazing Steve Jenkins and filled with fascinating information, this is wonderful for anyone curious about birds and their babies. 

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You Nest Here With Me

Written by Jane Yolen and Heidi E. Y. Stemple
Illustrated by Melissa Sweet

Part non-fiction book about birds, part pure poetry, You Nest Here With Me is lovely. So many things went right with this story. Information? Check. Simple, factual information about the nesting habits of 14 different kinds of birds is included on these brief pages. Additional information is also included in the back. Beautiful words? Check. Jane Yolen and her daughter, Heidi, have woven interesting nesting facts into a bedtime story that soothes the mind and dances on the tongue. Nestled among the lines is the refrain “you nest here with me” as a mother calms her daughter down for bed. Amazing illustrations? Check! Every picture book needs the perfect pictures to match the words. Melissa Sweet graces the pages with her trademark watercolor, gouache, and mixed media artwork that encourages you to slow down and see the words. A book to love.

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Red & Lulu

By Matt Tavares

This was my new favorite Christmas book last year and so yes, it’s technically a holiday book, but it’s also about a tree and two birds. It’s about seasons. It’s about love and miracles. It’s also about a tree – one of the most famous in the world.

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George Flies South

by Simon James

This is my new favorite book about a bird learning to fly. Winter is coming and George, the bird, is being coaxed out of the nest by his mom. George, however, is not ready to fly. A gust of wind, a car, a barge, a crane and a furry creature create quite the suspenseful adventure that ultimately ends in the most satisfactory way. A pure, simple, and exciting delight.

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Are You My Mother

By P. D. Eastman

This is one of the sweetest bird books around and it’s perfect for toddlers. A little bird hatches while it’s mother is out getting food so it heads off in search of his mom. That maybe sounds like it could be sad or scary but I promise it’s not at all and everyone is happily reunited at the end. It has a great repetitive format that toddlers love to predict as you go and the bird is one of the cutest illustrated characters ever.

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Owl Moon

Written by Jane Yolen
Illustrated by John Schoenherr

This book still takes my breath away sometimes. It is poetry and painting paired perfectly. This is a classic so likely not new to you, but in the Winter and at night – owls are the birds who rule our trees so it seemed like an important one to include here.

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About Woodpeckers: A Guide for Children

by Cathryn Sill
illustrated by John Sill

Clear, interesting, and beautiful. Each page has an informational sentence and a painting of a woodpecker. This is basic enough to read with a preschooler or for a new reader to read to themselves, but explores solid, intriguing information about these wonderful words. At the back you can find more information about each plate or illustration. If you want to a great introduction to Woodpeckers then this is the book for you.

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Who is it, Whoodini?

by Roman Yasiejko
illustrated by Gustavo Ramos

This playful mystery is quite unique from the other books on this list. It features two curious owls who attempt to figure out what they heard crash into a tree. You follow the clues in this well paced story to the nearby farm and back. It is fun for kids to guess along with who or what is stuck in the tree. Illustrated with glowing warm paintings, the whole book feels cozy and perfect for snuggling and reading together. 

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The Big Book of Birds

by Yuval Zommer

I adore this series of books and THE BIG BOOK OF BIRDS is a welcome addition. It covers birds from owls and robins to secretary birds and hoopoes. The book is built around a question and answer format that I think is perfect for the audience. Each page offers interesting information about a bird or group of birds. For example, the hummingbird page asks and answers “Does a hummingbird hum?” but it also offers other interesting information. Did you know that hummingbirds are the only bird that can fly backwards? Beyond the breath of information covered and the appealing format, the illustrations are lovely icing on a delicious cake. They are graceful and eye catching like all of Yuval Zommer’s books.

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Bird Count
by Susan Edwards Richmond
illustrated by Stephanie Fizer Coleman

Have you ever heard of the Christmas Bird Count? This was new to me and I found it fascinating. I love that this story is told from the perspective of a young girl who joins her mom as a citizen scientist for the annual bird count. There is so much rich content here – being a scientist, how to count with tally marks, all about different kinds of birds – but it is all told in an engaging narrative and illustrated with calm, snowy pictures. A wonderful nonfiction book to inspire your little scientist.

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Browse All 40+ Booklist for Kids

Books about Squirrels

Birds are not the only animals who live or play or hunt in trees. In our part of the world squirrels are the other most common critters in trees. My son’s personal favorite are chipmunks – that’s his absolute favorite animal in the whole world.

This is another category I would love to expand into other animals that live in trees – so tell me, what lives in the trees by you? And have you found any great books about them?

Scaredy Squirrel

Written by Melanie Watt
Illustrated by

In Kindergarten this was my son’s favorite series. He loved scarredy squirrel. He loved his antics. He thought the illustrations were fall out of his chair funny. He read every single one of these books and loved them all.

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Those Darn Squirrels

Written by Adam Rubin
Illustrated by Daniel Salmieri

Old Man Fookwire – who just cracked my twins up – puts out yummy snacks to entice the birds to stick around for the winter. Instead other creatures have different plans. I love the illustrations in this one. There are a couple more in the series if your kids think this is as funny as mine do.

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Nuts to You!

by Lois Ehlert

This book is great for learning more about squirrels in a playful format. The story follows a busy squirrel who gets inside an apartment, but Lois Ehlert also weaves in nonfiction information throughout the book and in the back of the book.

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The Secret Life of Squirrels

by Nancy Rose

This is illustrated with photographs of squirrels in various homemade miniature settings – the bathtub, doing laundry, etc. It is just silliness but a definitely hit with my giggly squirrel lovers.

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The Busy Little Squirrel

by Nancy Tafuri

This is a great squirrel book for toddlers. The text is brief and repetitive, but also playful and full of animals. This is also a great book for Fall because it is about a squirrel getting ready for Winter.

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Books about Treehouses

When we moved back into a house with a backyard a tree house was the first thing my kids requested. Unfortunately our backyard trees aren’t the best suited for a tree house, but that doesn’t stop them from daydreaming about treehouses like the ones found in these books.

Up in the Leaves: The True Story of the Central Park Treehouse

Written by Shira Boss
Illustrated by Jamey Christoph

I really wish I had read this book while I was living in New York City but I think it’s fun regardless. It is a seemingly impossible true story about a little boy trying to escape the hubbub of NYC. I love these illustrations and the setting because Central Park is one of my all time favorite places on earth.

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Treehouse Series

Wrriten by Andy Griffiths
Illustrated by Terry Denton

This is a quirky, goofy series about an insane tree house. It is a graphic novel series that I’d recommend for at least 6 year olds and up. The adventures these two friends get up to in their ridiculous tree house are often over the top. I love the creativity it inspires though – it’s kind of impossible not to dream up your own treehouse after reading these.

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Pete the Cat and the Tip-Top Tree House

by James Dean

Pete the Cat is always a fun choice in our house. It doesn’t seem to matter what his current antics are, my kids love these books. This is a pretty good early-ish reader and would also be a fun one to read aloud with younger kids.

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Everything You Need for a Treehouse

Written by Carter Higgins
Illustrations by Emily Hughes

This is written with a lyrical sense of adventure, but it is the soft illustrations that I love most. A timeless story.

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Author Study Idea: Jane Yolen

Those of you that have been reading my blog for a while know that I love a good author study. I love diving in deeply to an author’s work with kids. I love the ideas and comparisons and thoughts about writing and books that come out of it. For this particular theme I recommend Jane Yolen for an author study.

Jane Yolen is an American author that has written of 300 books. My mind honestly can’t even fathom writing and publishing over 300 books. It’s truly incredible. Given that she’s written so very many it’s hard to really peg her into a whole when you start talking about theme or style. However, I find her books to be lyrical and beautiful and often involving nature.

To Learn more about Jane Yolen:

And then read a stack of books by Jane Yolen. Truly she has too many wonderful titles to list, however, to get you started here are the ones I think best fit this theme:

15+ Up in the Tree Activity Ideas

I truly believe that reading aloud and talking to kids about books is ENOUGH to raise kids who want to read. Who love to read. Who can read. However, if you enjoy doing extension activities with your kids – here are some super fun ones for this month’s Up in the Tree theme!

  1. Loose Parts Nest Building from My Storytime Corner
  2. DIY Reversible Felt Tree from Preschool Toolkit
  3. Nest and Baby Bird Craft from Buggy and Buddy
  4. Montessori Inspired Backyard Birds 3-part Cards from In Our Pond
  5. Birds and Nests Sensory Bin from Rubber Boots and Elf Shoes
  6. Owl Bird Feeders from Red Ted Art
  7. How to Make a Hummingbird Feeder from Growing Up Gabel
  8. Even More Homemade Bird Feeder and Birdseed Ornaments from Natural Beach Living
  9. Bird Nest Math Activities – Counting, Addition and Subtraction from Rainy Day Mum
  10. Bird Game and Craft from Mosswood Connections
  11. Bird’s Nest Craft from Preschool Toolkit
  12. Paperclip Birds Craft from Sunhats and Wellie Boots
  13. Simple Bird Pre-Writing Printable from Mama Smiles
  14. Best Squirrel Activities – including a Squirrel song and printables from Natural Beach Living
  15. Squirrel Craft inspired by Nuts to You! from Buggy and Buddy
  16. Salt Dough Bird Ornaments from Messy Little Monster
  17. Bird Nest Playdough Invitation from Fantastic Fun and Learning
  18. Colorful Paper Plate Birds from Pink Stripey Socks
  19. Apple Picking Read and Make from My Storytime Corner

Visit my Up In The Tree Pinterest Board
for more even ideas

Ultimate List of Children's Books for Preschoolers about Up in the Trees including #picturebooks about #trees #squirrels #birds #treehouses and more

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