Good Books About the Water Cycle for Children
Do your children know about the water cycle? If you’re ready to introduce or review the water cycle for children, start with one or more of the nonfiction and fiction picture books on this list. After you read the book and talk about what they learned, define what the water cycle is and dive into the specifics of the science including diagrams (see one here) and definitions. Depending on your students and their ages, consider doing relevant hands-on activities. I wanted to start with this bottling activity as an easy at-home experiment.
But you can also introduce the water cycle to children around the house. Explain to children that water drops can be in three states – liquid, solid, and gas. Point out that snow and ice are examples of water in the solid state. Show children steam rising from a boiling pan and explain about water as both a liquid (boiling water) and a gas (steam). It’s pretty cool, isn’t it?
Now let’s learn about the best children’s books about the water cycle.
Water Cycle for Kids Books
Drop by Emily Kate Moon
Water drops accumulate a lot in the ocean. Sometimes she bounces in the air with her friends, forming clouds, which then turn into rain. Drop loves her life of adventure – she’s also experienced sleet, snow, and glaciers and she never knows where she’ll fall. She can fall into a river and flow into a lake or fall into the woods where she is pulled up by tree roots and pushed out through a leaf. Told with charm and personality, read through the water cycle by following Drop’s fascinating life.
The Rhythm of the Rain by Grahame Baker-Smith
A sparkling circle celebrates water in a large-format photo book with stunning images. The story begins with a boy pouring his water bottle into a mountain pond that leads into a river that flows into the Great Ocean. Following the water on a journey leads to a whale, to the clouds, to another river and ocean in the rain, then back to the sky and rain again. Finally, the water returned to the mountain lake where a boy named Issac was playing. Amazingly magical.
Blue Floats Away by Travis Jonker, illustrated by Grant Snider
This circular story is about the water cycle and is also a metaphor for change. Delightful torn paper collage art shows Blue, a newborn iceberg, separated from his adult parents. He flew away and saw many new things, and made new friends. As he floated, he became smaller and turned into liquid, then evaporated into a cloud, seeing more new things. Soon he grew colder and colder until he became snow falling on his parents.
The Snowman and the Sun by Susan Taghdis, illustrated by Ali Mafakheri
Reading this story will reassure children that snowmen don’t disappear, they deform. When the snowman melts into water, he will evaporate and become a cloud. He likes to be a cloud, though, in the end, he becomes snow, gently drifting to the ground in flakes. When the boy saw snow, he built a snowman again.
Water is Water by Miranda Paul, illustrated by Jason Chin
I love this evocative and lyrical book, which playfully explores the waters in your lives. For example: “Water is water unless…” it heats up and becomes steam. Precise language and beautiful illustrations make this book a great introduction to the water cycle.
Water: A Deep Dive of Discovery by Christy Mihaly, illustrated by Mariona Cabassa
A beautiful book that shares lots of information about water along with folk tales. Learn about the water cycle, salt water, fresh water, the power of water, and more. Additionally, open the “Deeper Activities” section for hands-on activities to apply what you’ve learned. Read stories like Where the Water Grows from Zimbabwe about Hippo, who helped Water discover new plants. Beautiful borders and illustrations make this an eye-catching, engaging book that is essential for homeschool libraries, school libraries, and classrooms.
Ice Boy by David Ezra Stein
Ice Boy was born a block of ice, but he wants to explore the world, not just wait for someone to choose a drink. And he does it in a captivating exploration of the water cycle – just as ice turns into water and then turns into steam!
Water by Melissa Stuart
With full-color photographs, this is an engaging book that provides third-grade readers with information about the water cycle for children.
The Water Cycle at Work by Rebecca Jean Olien
In this nonfiction picture book for elementary readers, you’ll learn about evaporation, precipitation, condensation, clouds, humidity, and more. Clear writing with only a few sentences per page, bold vocabulary, and labeled illustrations make this a solid choice for teaching reading.
The Water Dance by Thomas Locker
Personified water narrates their lives in the first person, dancing around the world. “Sometimes I fall. I dive, and fall, over moss-covered rocks, through the shadows of the forest. I am the mountain stream.” Rich in poetic language and beautiful images.
