Slowly, the sun is warming the earth awake. The smell of mud in the air is our first sign that spring is coming.

Here are some books that will help young readers reacquaint themselves with nature after winter months indoors.

* "The Way of the Willow Branch," by Emery Bernhard

* "The Mountain That Loved a Bird," by Alice McLerran

* "The Earth and I," by Frank Asch

* "Water," by Frank Asch

* "The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree," by Gail Gibbons

* "What is the Sun?" by Reeve Lindbergh

* "How a Seed Grows," by Helene J. Jordan

* "Planting a Rainbow," by Lois Ehlert

* "Old Turtle," by Douglas Wood

* "Dear Children of the Earth: A Letter from Home," by Schim Schimmel

* "Sunflower Sal," by Janet S.

Anderson

- Courtesy Barnes & Noble

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