Celebrating the Year with Picture Books

A booklist of picture books for marking the seasons, feast days of saints and other celebrations. As a Catholic the list is biased in that direction, but I have also included books about Jewish holy days as my husband is Jewish and celebrating Jewish festivals is part of our family tradition. I have also tried to include as many UK published books as possible, giving UK readers a better chance to find books at the library. I have indicated these, and also those books included in Catholic Mosaic by Cay Gibson (a picture book study for Catholic children). I have started with Autumn as that is the beginning of the educational year. Where the date of a celebration varies from year to year, I have put it into the month in which it most commonly falls.

All Year Round

• Usborne Book of the Seasons - nature activities throughout the year UK
• Skip Through the Seasons (Stella Blackstone) - previous title Jump Into January. A double page spread connected with each month, with items to spot. (Younger children) UK
• Around the Year (Elsa Beskow)
• The Pear Tree (Meredith Hooper and Bee Willey) UK
• Children Just Like Me: Celebration (Barnabas and Anabel Kindersley) UK
• Letters from Heaven: an Illuminated Alphabet (Susan von Medicus)
• An Alphabet of Catholic Saints (Brenda and George Nippert) 
• Stories of the Saints (Joyce Denham) UK
• I Sing a Song of the Saints of God (Lesbia Scott and Judith Gwyn Brown)
• Saints: Lives and Illuminations (Ruth Sanderson)
• S is for Saints (Megan Dunsmore)      

Autumn

• Flower Fairies of the Autumn (Cicely Barker) UK
• Autumn Story (Brambly Hedge) (Jill Barklem) UK
• Signs of Autumn (Paul Humphrey) UK
• Guess How Much I Love You Autumn (Sam McBratney) UK
• Autumn: an Alphabet Acrostic (Steven Schnur)
• The Story of the Wind Children (Sybille von Olfers)
  
• The Story of Autumn: A Golden Leaf (Rosie McCormick) UK

September

• Mother Teresa (Demi) - Catholic Mosaic
• Stories Told by Mother Teresa (Teresa, Edward LeJoly, Jaya Chaliha and Allan Drummond)

8th - Birthday of Blessed Virgin Mary

• Mary's Story (Sarah Jane Boss) UK
• Mary, the Mother of Jesus (Tomie de Paola)
• Mary (Brian Wildsmith) UK
• Mary: Mother of Jesus (Mary Joslin and Alison Wisenfeld) UK
• The Story of Mary (Patricia Pingry)

9th - St. Peter Claver

• Peter Claver, Patron Saint of Slaves (Julia Duango and Rebecca Garcia-Franco) - Catholic Mosaic
  

• The Tale of Three Trees (Angela Elwell Hunt and Tim Jonke) - Catholic Mosaic
  

17th - St. Hildegard of Bingen

•   The Secret World of Hildegard (Jonah Winter)
  

21st - Autumn Equinox

• We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season (Wendy Pfeffer and Linda Bleck)
  
• The Autumn Equinox: Celebrating the Harvest (Ellen Jackson)
  

25th - St. Sergius of Radonezh

• The Wonderful Life of Russia's Saint: Sergius of Radonezh (Alvin Alexei Currier and Nadha Glazunova)

• Wenceslas (Geraldine McCaughrean) UK
• Good King Wenceslas (Pauline Baynes)
• Good King Wenceslas (Tim Ladwig)
• Good King Wenceslas (Jamichael Henterley)
  

• Saint Jerome and the Lion (Margaret Hodges) - Catholic Mosaic

October

• God's Little Flower: the Story of Saint Therese of Lisieux (Chris Driscoll) 

• Saint Francis of Assisi (Joyce Denham) UK
• Saint Francis (Brian Wildsmith) UK
• Francis: the Poor Man of Assisi (Tomie de Paola)
• The Good Man of Assisi (Mary Joslin and Alison Wisenfeld) - Catholic Mosaic UK
• Brother Juniper (Diane Gibfried)
• The song of Francis and the Animals (Pat Mora)
• St. Francis and the Proud Crow (Bernadette Watts)
• Brother Wolf of Gubbio: a Legend of Saint Francis (Colony Elliot Santangelo)
• The Circle of Days (Reeve Lindbergh) - Canticle of the Sun
• Canticle of the Sun: Saint Francis of Assisi (Fiona French) UK

• Helen's Special Picture (David Previtali)

• Speak, Lord, I Am Listening: a Rosary Book (Christine Haapala)
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• A Saint and His Lion: the Story of Tekla of Ethiopia (Elaine Murray Stone) 
  

• Children Just Like Me: Celebration (Kindersley) - Hallowe'en (Canada) UK
• Scary, Scary Halloween (Eve Bunting and Jan Brett)
• Angelina's Halloween (Katharine Holabird) UK

November

1st - All Saints Day

• Letters from Heaven: an Illuminated Alphabet (Susan von Medicus)
• An Alphabet of Catholic Saints (Brenda and George Nippert) 
• Stories of the Saints (Joyce Denham) UK
• I Sing a Song of the Saints of God (Lesbia Scott and Judith Gwyn Brown)
• Saints: Lives and Illuminations (Ruth Sanderson)
• S is for Saints (Megan Dunsmore)  
  

2nd - All Souls Day

• Children Just Like Me: Celebration (Kindersley) - Day of the Dead (Mexico) UK
• The Spirit of Tio Fernando: a Day of the Dead Story (Janice Levy and Morella Fuenmayor) - Catholic Mosaic
• Day of the Dead (Tony Johnston)
• Day of the Dead (Lina Lowery) 

 3rd - St. Martin de Porres

• The Pied Piper of Peru (Ann Tompert)
  

5th - Bonfire Night (Guy Fawkes)

• Hare and Guy Fawkes (Alison Uttley) UK

11th - Armistice Day (World War I) 

Remembrance Sunday (Sunday after Armistice Day)

Thanksgiving (4th Thursday of November, USA)

• Children Just Like Me: Celebration (Kindersley) - Thanksgiving (USA) UK

30th - St. Andrew

• Saint Andrew: Patron Saint of Scotland (Lois Rock) UK

Winter

• Flower Fairies of the Winter (Cicely Barker) UK
• Winter Story (Brambly Hedge) (Jill Barklem) UK
• Signs of Winter (Paul Humphrey) UK
• Guess How Much I Love You Winter (Sam McBratney) UK
• Winter: an Alphabet Acrostic (Steven Schnur)
  
• The Story of Winter: A Snowflake Falls (Rosie McCormick) UK
• Winter King and the Summer Queen (Mary Lister) UK
• Lights of Winter: Winter Celebrations Around the World (Heather Conrad)
• The Story of the Snow Children (Sybille von Olfers)
  

December

• Festival of Lights: the Story of Hanukkah (Maida Silverman)
• Hanukkah Lights, Hanukkah Nights (Leslie Kimmelman and John Himmelman) 
• Hooray for Hanukkah! (Fran Manushkin and Carolyn Croll)
• The Runaway Latkes (Leslie Kimmelman)
  

January

February

Spring

• Flower Fairies of the Spring (Cicely Barker) UK
• Spring Story (Brambly Hedge) (Jill Barklem) UK
• Signs of Spring (Paul Humphrey) UK
• Guess How Much I Love You Spring (Sam McBratney) UK
• Spring: an Alphabet Acrostic  (Steven Schnur)  
• Crafts to Make in the Spring (Kathy Ross) - Crafts for All Seasons series
• The Story of Spring: The First Flower (Rosie McCormick) UK
• Springtime in Noisy Village (Astrid Lindgren) 
• Mother Earth and Her Children: a Quilted Fairy Tale (Sybille von Olfers)
• Little Grey Rabbit's Spring Cleaning (Alison Uttley) UK

March

April

May

Summer

• Flower Fairies of the Summer (Cicely Barker) UK
• Summer Story (Brambly Hedge) (Jill Barklem) UK
• Signs of Summer (Paul Humphrey) UK
• Guess How Much I Love You Summer (Sam McBratney) UK
• Summer: an Alphabet Acrostic (Steven Schnur)
• The Story of Summer: Buttercups and Daisies (Rosie McCormick) UK
• Winter King and the Summer Queen (Mary Lister) UK

June

July

August