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March is a month of many holidays this year including St. Patrick’s Day, Easter, International Women’s Day, and it’s Women’s History Month! I considered all of these as I curated children’s books for our March book basket. Here are some of the books we’ll be reading this month. This list is by no means exhaustive so I’d love to know what you’re reading too! Click the link below to download a printable version of our book basket list for March!
1. A Very Happy Easter
This sweet book is a retelling of Jesus’s death and resurrection and encourages young readers with the hope of new life in Jesus.
2. Betty Greene: The Girl Who Longed to Fly
Since March is International Women’s Month and it also contains St. Patrick’s Day, I figured this green book about a woman would be the perfect fit for our book basket. This book tells the story of Betty Greene (which is such a fitting last name) who became a pilot for the sake of spreading the gospel. You can read my review of Betty Greene here.
3. Coat of Many Colors
This story is about a young girl who observes that the coat her mother made for her, while not fancy, is precious. It mirrors the story of Joseph and his many colored coat and is a sweet tale.
4. Corrie ten Boom
Like Betty Greene, Corrie ten Boom tells the story of Corrie’s life in a way that is easy for little readers to understand. My oldest daughter loves this series and reading this volume in particular has been a helpful way to introduce her to world history.
5. Easter is Coming!
This board book contains lovely illustrations that take children through a broad overview of Scripture. It begins in the Garden of Eden and shows how God’s plan to send a Savior could never be thwarted because Easter is coming.
6. God’s Big Promises: Easter
This is a condensed board book version of the Easter story and is adapted from God’s Big Promises Bible Storybook by Carl Laferton, author of The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross. God’s Big Promises Easter is a simplified retelling of why Jesus came and is perfect for reading with 1-3 year olds.
7. Goldilocks and the Three Bears
I chose this classic tale for our March book basket because the illustrations contain gold and green, colors often associated with St. Patrick’s Day.
8. Gladys Aylward
This book is about Gladys Aylward who was a missionary to China. She lived a life of faithfulness as she spread the good news of Jesus which left a lasting legacy amongst the Chinese people. You can read my review of Gladys Aylward here.
9. How Much is A Little Girl Worth?
This is a lovely book by sexual abuse survivor, lawyer, and mother, Rachael Denhollander. A few years ago, I had the joy of being on the launch team for this book as well as Denhollander’s memoir, What Is A Girl Worth? The children’s book teaches little girls that they are valued image bearers of God and is a sweet story to read especially if you have daughters. You can read my review of How Much is A Little Girl Worth? here.
10. It’s St. Patrick’s Day
This book communicates in rhyme about some of the traditions associated with St. Patrick’s Day. In the story, the two main characters are preparing to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day and it concludes with their participation in a St. Patrick’s Day parade.
11. Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato
This is an adaptation of an Irish folktale by Tomie dePaola of Stregna Nona fame. My mom read many of dePaola’s books to me and my sister’s growing up so it’s a joy to share some of them with my kids. This story is about Jamie, the laziest man in all of Ireland, who refuses to help grow potatoes so he and his wife can have food for the winter.
When his wife is injured, Jamie has to find a way to ensure they have food. He stumbles upon a leprechaun and tries to get gold from him to purchase potatoes but the leprechaun tricks Jamie into taking a potato seed instead. The seed yields a giant potato that ends up proving to be more valuable than initially anticipated.
12. Jesus Rose for Me
This is a lovely board book collection of 5 stories from The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible, my favorite children’s Bible for toddlers! These stories focus on why Jesus came and present a simple way for little ones to understand the good news of the gospel. You can read my review of Jesus Rose for Me here.
13. Leprechaun on the Loose
This story is a fun tale about a leprechaun who breaks loose during a class party and causes mischief. It doesn’t have great reviews on Amazon which I think is hilarious but my girls request it on repeat when March rolls around.
14. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
This is another Tomie dePaola title that is perfect for March. This story details the life of St. Patrick and the legacy he’s left as a faithful follower of Jesus. It was neat to learn about how he founded the first church in Ireland, known as the Cradle of Christianity. The book concludes with some interesting legends about St. Patrick.
15. Planting A Rainbow
Since rainbows are typically associated with St. Patrick’s Day (you can read the fascinating history behind that here), and spring occurs in March, this book seemed like a great pick. In this book, different seeds are sown and yield a beautiful garden that contains flowers organized by color. I love Lois Ehlert’s children’s books and my girls are enjoying Planting a Rainbow!
16. Rechenka’s Eggs
This sweet story is about a character, Babushka, who works hard to paint eggs for an upcoming festival. One day, as geese fly overhead, one falls to the ground injured. Babushka keeps it and decides to name it Rechenka. As Rechenka heals, she knocks over the eggs that Babushka worked so hard to decorate. Over the next few days, Rechenka miraculously lays eggs with different colors and patterns on them.
Babushka takes them to the festival but sets Rechenka free before leaving. When Babuskha returns, she notices an egg that she hadn’t seen before and this one contains a baby goose who hatches. I love that as she encounters new life, Babushka acknowledges that it’s a miracle.
17. St. Patrick’s Day by Gail Gibbons
This book details the life and legacy of St. Patrick and also helps children understand some of the modern traditions that exist in response to St. Patrick’s Day.
18. St. Patrick’s Day in the Morning
This story is about a little boy named Jamie who rises early on St. Patrick’s Day to practice parading around his town. He longs to participate in the town St. Patrick’s Day parade but has been denied due to his age. By the time his family awakens, Jamie is back asleep and content knowing that he experienced a parade of his own.
19. The Donkey Who Carried A King
In this fictional story, a grandfather tells his grandson Reilly about a donkey named Davey who lived during the time of Jesus. Reilly had been left out at school and his grandfather tells him that Davey felt the same way until he carried King Jesus. This is a sweet tale about the importance of serving, no matter how small one’s role or task, and ultimately, about the gospel.
20. The Easter Egg
In this book, rabbits work hard to decorate Easter eggs as whoever has the best egg receives the privilege of hiding eggs with the Easter Rabbit on Easter morning. Hoppi, the main character, draws inspiration from his friends yet finds himself unable to come up with a design. Completing his egg is delayed when he agrees to stay on an egg for a robin who has to fly away.
On Easter morning, the bunnies present their eggs to the Easter Rabbit who declares that one important egg is missing—the one that Hoppi helped keep warm. He presents the eggshell from the hatched chick to the other bunnies and Hoppi is selected to help hide Easter eggs.
21. The Easter Fix
This book is a part of the Little Me, Big God series by The Good Book Company. This story tells about how Jesus came to fix our broken world through His death and resurrection. You can access the story on YouTube here.
22. The Garden, The Curtain, and The Cross
This is one of our all time favorite children’s books and it does an excellent job of helping children understand why Jesus died. I am moved to tears every time we read this and while it’s great for reading all year round, I felt it deserved a special spot in our March book basket because it is so encouraging for parents and children alike!
23. The King of Easter
This is a lovely children’s book about King Jesus who came to seek and save the lost. It takes children through different people from the Bible whom Jesus saved and helps them know that Jesus can save them too. The illustrations in this book are stunning and the story is the perfect length for young readers. You can read my review of The King of Easter here.
24. The Story of Easter
This is a board book with rich illustrations that details the story of the resurrection and includes many of the events that led to it. It concludes by reminding children that we celebrate Jesus’s death and resurrection on Easter as a means of acknowledging the hope we have in Him.
25. Patrick: God’s Courageous Captive
This is a lovely book in the Courageous series by Voice of the Martyrs that details the life of St. Patrick and the legacy he’s left as a follower of Jesus.
