Nature’s Paintbox: A Seasonal Gallery of Art and Verse by Patricia Thomas, illustrated by Craig Orback.

Wowza.  This is a great book of poetry for children! 

The book moves as a single poem throughout the seasons, rhyming and rhythmic and capturing with clarity each season.  The book also combines an understanding of art with the verse, moving from medium to medium to evoke each season as pure and distinct from the others.  Winter is done in pen and ink, spring in pastels, summer in watercolors and autumn in oils.  And each illustration shows why that is true in the same way as the dazzling poetry does.  While I enjoyed the poetry throughout the book, I am filled with amazement and wonder at the autumn section where Thomas’ verse gets as voluptuous and full as the season itself.  The book begins with spare verse about winter, slowly developing throughout the year until autumn arrives and the boundlessness of the season, the colors is almost overwhelming.  Colors are described as “redorangepurplebronzeindigogoldgreen.”  And you know just what she means.  It is a joy to read, to dance along with these words and these illustrations through the year.

Highly recommended as a read aloud.  You won’t be able to read it to yourself anyway when you reach those colorful words in autumn because they beg to be read aloud and come to life.  Add this one to your seasonal story times or units.  Plus it can be enjoyed by art classes looking at different media where children understanding the seasons already can relate.  Children aged 6-9 will enjoy this best of all.

Apples and oranges:  going bananas with pairs by Sara Pinto.

Pure silliness in a very appealing package, this book will offer groans of delight.  Each page offers a pair of objects and asks how they are alike.  You then turn the page to find the strange reason they are alike.  And yes, there are always always obvious reasons, but those are never the ones given in the book.  So here’s one for you:

How are a starfish and an octopus alike?  Give up?  They both don’t knit.

The book goes on and on like that, much to the delight of children it is shared with.  In fact, they will begin to make their own outrageous guesses as to how the items are alike, creating a really interactive experience for them.  The cacophony when shared with a class will be joyous and fun.

The illustrations by Pinto are friendly, funny, and continue the silliness onto the page.  They are the perfect match of line drawings featuring nicely drawn animals and objects and also a silly vibe after the page is turned. 

Sure to be a hit with children, especially if you as a reader play it deadpan and serious.  Children have to be a certain age to get the joke, so I’d recommend sharing this one with ages 6-8.

Jazz Baby by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by R. Gregory Christie.

Jazz Baby is awake in his crib when the rhythms and music start and he claps along with the beat.  Then everyone joins in making their own signature sounds and dancing in different styles.  This musical picture book has plenty of opportunities for children to hum, sing and move along with the story.  The text is pure rhythm and rhyme where you can feel your feet tapping and your body swaying along.  It is a joy to read aloud and will be a joy to listen to as well.

The illustrations by Christie are also winning, as we see family members will all different skin tones, styles and movements.  It is a look at diversity within a loving family unit filled with several generations of love.  The illustrations just like the words seem to capture jazz itself, its flow and its improvisational aspects. 

Highly recommended for reading aloud, make sure everyone is invited to move, wiggle and clap along.  They will anyway!

Author’s website:  www.lisawheelerbooks.com

Illustrator’s website:  www.gas-art.com