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Science
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Are you looking for a way to spice up your St Patty’s Day celebrations while also getting the most out of your day? Picture books are an amazing way to learn about the world and can be an invaluable tool for introducing children to scientific skills and concepts. This list of St Patty’s Day picture books about science includes 10 titles that can help with your weather units, photosynthesis studies, and your light units.
By reading some of these books to your students you are supplementing your science instruction with children’s literature. This technique can help generate interest and motivation, provide context, encourage communication, and connect science information in real-world context (Mahzoon-Hagheghi, 2018, 41). Read this list of St Patty’s Day books to get some amazing titles to develop scientific skills in your students!
St Patty’s Day Books
Meet March by April Martin
Reading age: Preschool – 4th grade (3-9 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-1, 1-ESS1-2
Martin introduces the readers to the month of March with a character that shares the same name. March has characteristics that are associated with the calendar month and what’s happening in nature such as clover hair, rainbow socks, a gold coin shirt, and more. February, March, and April go on a springtime scavenger hunt in the hopes that they will find March’s lost guinea pig and they uncover signs of spring that coordinate with the colors of the rainbow.
*Bonus- Like this book on the St Patty’s Day book list? This book belongs to the Calendar Kids Series that includes books about the months January through June!
Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (4-8 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-3
Juliano encourages STEAM participation with plans for 16 leprechaun traps in this activity book geared towards teachers and parents. Using common classroom craft materials, students can work independently or during a guided lesson to create one of these feats of engineering. Juliano also includes recipes and other bonus activities to accompany your St Patty’s Day fun.
How to Trap a Leprechaun by Sue Fliess
Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (4-8 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-3
Fliess STEMs up St. Patrick’s Day with a call for kids to design leprechaun traps. Full of rhyme and rhythm, this fun book encourages creativity, teamwork, determination, and resilience as children work hard to design a model that could catch the mythic leprechaun.
Baby Loves Photosynthesis on St. Patrick’s Day! by Ruth Spiro
Reading age: Baby – Preschool (0-3 years) but maybe not 😊
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, 2-LS2-1, 4-PS4-2, 4-LS1-2, 5-PS1-1, 5-PS3-1, 5-LS1-1 (YES! Even 5th grade!)
Although written as a board book for infants, this book by Spiro is packed with abstract and advanced concepts about plants. Spiro first introduces a brief history behind St Patty’s Day and then breaks down the science behind photosynthesis, chlorophyll, and the role of sun light in a child-friendly way. If read out loud in just the right way, students can look past the fact that the main character is a baby and appreciate the explanation of the role of clovers in the food web.
Books About Clovers
How to Catch a Clover Thief by Elise Parsley
Reading age: Preschool – 3rd Grade (4-8 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-2-ETS1-2, K-2-ETS1-3, 3-5-ETS1-1, 3-5-ETS1-3
This silly tale is about a wild boar patiently waiting for his clover patch to bloom while a neighboring gopher steals it. The wild boar eventually builds a trap that catches the gopher so that he can enjoy his plants when they have flowered. This book can encourage engineering practices this St Patty’s Day and offers an alternative storyline to the recent trend of building a leprechaun trap.
The Wind and the Clover by Audrey Helen Weber
Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade Grade (4-8 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, K-ESS3-1, 1-ESS1-1, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS2-1, 3-LS4-3, 4-LS1-1
Weber brings a whimsical storyline to solitary ground bees and their role in a clover field ecosystem. One by one, ground bees leave their clover field habitat and adventure on the wind with pollen out to new ecosystems. They visit deserts, tundra, rainforests and more on their search for something new and interesting. When they return home, they look closely to find the immense biodiversity in their own clover field and how interesting their home actually is.
Wildflowers Around the Year by Hope Ryden
Reading age: 3rd grade – 7th grade (9-12 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, 1-ESS1-2, 2-LS2-1, 2-LS2-2, 2-LS4-1, 3-LS1-1, 3-LS3-1, 4-LS1-1, 5-LS1-1
Ryden provides a library of information about wildflowers, including Red clovers, in this nonfiction book. Photographs of wildflowers are paired with descriptions of the flowers, where they grow, what they need from their habitat, what weather to expect, and what months they can be found; most things elementary students could need! Although it isn’t a read aloud book, it could be left at a center or in the classroom library for students to be able to identify flowers they are seeing at home, on walks, or in your school yard.
Books About Rainbows
Reading age: Preschool – Kindergarten (2-4 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-ESS2-1
Taft uses rhyme and rhythm to introduce signs and weather of spring. Focusing on rain, the children in the book notice worms, dress for the weather, jump in mud, experience a thunderstorm, and a rainbow. If you’re looking for a book for your weather unit, this is a great option for your early childhood learners! They’ll love the play on words and the silly things the children in the story do.
The Hidden Rainbow by Christie Matheson
Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (4-8 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): K-LS1-1, K-ESS2-1, K-ESS3-1, 2-LS2-1, 2-LS2-2
Matheson creates another interactive work of art with this spring themed book. As the reader turns the pages they are prompted through rhyme and rhythm to interact with the nature in the pictures in a way that encourages the fulfillment of plant and bee needs, growth, and pollination. Rainbows are creatively woven into this pollination story. *Bonus: there’s mention of a four leaf clover in this story! 🍀 🌈
Let’s Make a Rainbow by Chris Ferrie
Reading age: Preschool – 3rd grade (4-8 years)
Related Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS): 1-PS4-3, 4-PS4-2, 4-LS1-2
Ferrie breaks down the abstract concept of light physics in this picture book about how rainbows are made. Red Kangaroo and Dr. Chris talk through light absorption, reflection, and refraction and how light makes objects look certain colors all in the context of how rainbows are made. At the end of the book there are two suggested experiments for your students to play around with light.
In a nutshell
Hopefully after reading this list of St Patty’s Day books about science you’ve found a wonderful book (or two or three…) to read with your class this festive St. Patrick’s Day. If you’re looking for engaging activities to accompany your weather or season related St Patty’s Day books, check out my spring seasonal activities. Enjoy this festive holiday with shamrocks, rainbows, leprechauns and more!
Works Cited
Mahzoon-Hagheghi, M.; Yebra, R.; Johnson, R. (2018). Fostering a Greater Understanding of Science in the Classroom Through Children’s Literature. Texas Journal of Literacy Education, 6(1), 41-50. https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1183979.pdf
Have amazing children’s St Patty’s Day books that weren’t listed? Include your favorites in the comments!
Check out this podcast episode for unique ways to teach with books!
Looking for more ways to get science-y during your holidays at school? Check out these other articles:
“Pumpkins in November: How to Use Halloween Pumpkins to Teach Students”
“How Do You Celebrate the Winter Solstice with Elementary Students?”
“Beyond Hearts and Cupids: A Guide to Alternative Valentine’s Day Parties for Elementary Teachers”
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