Want to learn more about the flowers celebrated during Washington’s 2026 National Cherry Blossom Festival (March 20-April 12)? These books explore the blossom as a symbol and as a lovely, tangible object. Who knows whether peak viewing will occur during the festival’s run, but your family will have a great time regardless. Enjoy kite flying, the festival parade, themed restaurant items and museum events across the region. And try pairing pink cookies with one of these books for a springtime read at home.
TOTS TO AGE 7
“When Cherry Blossoms Fall”
By Katrina Goldsaito
Illustrated by Yas Imamura
Little, Brown, 2026, $18.99
Yuna loves climbing the gnarled cherry tree in her great-grandmother’s yard. She eagerly awaits the sakura, or cherry blossoms, each spring and describes them to her almost blind great-grandmother. The old lady explains that these blossoms “become more beautiful because you know they will soon be gone,” a concept known as “mono-no-aware.” Yuna does not understand, until she visits the tree the spring after her great-grandmother passes away. She sees the tree in full bloom—and then the sudden release of blossoms when the wind swirls through. Yuna witnesses “the beauty disappearing” and thinks of her beloved great-grandmother, now gone. This tender story touches upon the transience of beauty and life at a level appropriate for young children.
“Waiting for Hanami”
By J.P. Takahashi
Illustrated by HifuMiyo
HarperCollins, 2025, 19.99
Sai and her parents join a big family reunion for Hanami, or cherry blossom viewing. This tradition began years ago in Japan, where people gather under the trees and look up. As the author’s note explains: The “brief lives [of the blossoms] remind us to appreciate what we have, every day, while we have it.” In the story, Sai and her newly met cousin are overwhelmed by family members, known and unknown. But the two find connection by asking questions, making art and relishing the ephemeral blossoms around them.
PRETEENS
“Eliza’s Cherry Trees: Japan’s Gift to America”
Illustrated by Ju Hong Chen
Pelican Publishing, 2011, $16.99
We have Eliza Scidmore to thank for the cherry trees that grace Washington’s Tidal Basin. But who was Eliza and how did she engineer the generous gift of 3,700 trees from Japan? This illustrated biography opens with Eliza as a youngster in the late 1800s in the nation’s capital. Curious about the world, she travels extensively as an adult and writes about and photographs the countries she visits. Eliza also works for the National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution. While in Japan, Eliza becomes enthralled with the cherry trees there and approaches American officials about planting some in Washington, DC. The book describes Eliza’s persistence through decades of setbacks—and ends with a celebratory tree planting in 1912.
“Write Your Own Haiku”
By Patricia Donegan
Tuttle, 2018, $10.99
Haiku is a type of Japanese poetry known worldwide. As this book makes clear, though, it is much more than its familiar syllabic, three-line form. Patricia Donegan explores Asian history and heritage and provides the seven keys to writing haiku. Poems by masters Basho and Issa and by talented youngsters model haiku both elegant and simple. Want to get started? Though marketed to preteens, this book is a great resource for teens and adults, and it can be adapted for the early elementary crowd. Your whole family may enjoy writing haiku inspired by the DMV area’s cherry blossoms.
TEENS
“The Sakura Obsession”
By Naoko Abe
Knopf, 2019, $21
Most Americans acquaint cherry blossoms with spring festivals and their presence in the nation’s capital. This compelling work of nonfiction widens that very limited perspective. Journalist Naoko Abe’s history of these blossoms includes their importance to the Japanese imperial court and their impact as symbols during World War II and worldwide in the decades that follow. A prominent figure in this narrative is Collingwood Ingram, an English horticulturalist and authority on Japanese cherries. As a plant collector, he helped save several varieties from extinction during the 20th century. Teens interested in the natural world and history will be fascinated by how the sakura has evolved over this past century and Ingram’s role in those changes.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, DC, and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently “Queen Elizabeth II,” an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for the Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. Learn more at maryquattlebaum.com.
Mary Quattlebaum lives in Washington, D.C. and is the author of 30 award-winning children’s books, most recently Queen Elizabeth II, an early reader biography. She teaches in the graduate program in writing for children at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, writes frequently for The Washington Post and is a popular school and conference speaker. maryquattlebaum.com
