autumn

Flora’s Very Windy Day – Brilliant and Breezy

| Tasha

2010-09-02_1724

Flora’s Very Windy Day by Jeanne Birdsall, illustrated by Matt Phelan

Flora has had enough of her little brother Crispin messing up her stuff.  But now her mother has asked her to take Crispin outside even though the wind is very strong.  Flora will be fine because of her “super-special heavy-duty red boots” but Crispin just might blow away.  If he does, it wouldn’t be Flora’s fault.  Outside Flora laughs at the wind and knows it won’t be able to lift her, but she does tell the wind that her brother is wearing regular boots.  Soon the wind blows harder still  and Crispin is lifted into the air.  Now Flora has to decide whether to just let him go, but she kicks off her super boots and flies off with him.  As they fly through the air, Flora is approached by several creatures to take her brother from her.  A sparrow wants him to sit on her nest, the rainbow wants him to guards its pot of gold, the man in the moon wants the company.  But each is turned down as Flora replies that she is taking her brother home.  But that’s if the wind will let her do that.

Birdsall has created a book that sings.  Her prose is filled with bounce and lovely small details.  Each encounter ends with a similar response from Flora and from the creature making the request, creating a book that has just enough repetition to feel complete and whole.  Her words read aloud with grace, the refrains tying a bow on each situation.

Phelan’s art has a wonderful breezy style that matches the subject perfectly.  The children and their mother are real people with frizzy hair, apple-red cheeks, and quirks of their own.  The illustrations nicely capture the motion of the wind and the blowing leaves with a welcome feeling of freedom.

A perfect autumn read, this book is sure to blow fresh air into any story time.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.

Also reviewed by A Patchwork of Books.

Apples and Pumpkins

| Tasha

Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum
Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum

Celebrate the fall season with this pair of book from National Geographic Kids.  Both book have simple text just right for beginning readers combined with vivid photographs.  In Apples, readers follow apples from blossom to harvest to different uses.  Mouths will be watering at the caramel apples, applesauce and cider.  In Pumpkin, readers get to see the pumpkins grow on the vine, turn orange, and be made into pies, jack-o-lanterns, and even boats.  Yes, boats.  The photographs feature children of different ethnicities, which is wonderful to see in nonfiction titles.

Esbaum’s photographs steal the show here with their crisp focus, bright colors and interesting compositions.  But her text is not to be ignored.  Her words add context and detailed information that make the photographs even more interesting.

Perfect to expand your fall seasonal shelves, these books come paperback bound so buy a bushel.

Reviewed from copies received from publisher.

Also reviewed by The Well-Read Child.

Big Wolf & Little Wolf: The Little Leaf that Wouldn’t Fall

| Tasha

Big Wolf & Little Wolf: The Little Leaf that Wouldn’t Fall by Nadine Brun-Cosme, illustrated by Olivier Tallec

Released December 2009.

This sequel to the lovely Big Wolf & Little Wolf continues the story of their friendship.  Little Wolf spots a special leaf in the spring and wants Big Wolf to climb up their tree and bring it down.  Big Wolf tells him to wait, that it will fall.  Little Wolf asks again in the summer and autumn, as the leaf turns into a deep green and then a soft brown.  When winter arrives, the leaf is still up in the tree, now a black color.  Then one day, Big Wolf decides to climb the tree and bring down the leaf for Little Wolf.  After a harrowing climb, Big Wolf reaches the leaf and it crumbles to pieces.  Beautiful pieces.

Brun-Cosme’s prose is lovely, spare and yet manages to be dynamic too.  She evokes the seasons, colors and wonder of each time of year without becoming maudlin at all.  There is the drama of Big Wolf’s climb and the unexpected resolution of the story that is surprising but fitting.  The first book was about the awkwardness of new friendship.  This second book is about a deepening connection and the beauty of togetherness. 

Tallec’s illustrations are less colorful this time, sticking to a more natural palette of colors.  But they still have an expansive feel, a clear sense of space, and they play with perspective.  They are simple but dynamic, just like the text.  A lovely combination.

Highly recommended, this series has its own unique feel and style.  These are quiet books, filled with natural beauty and deep connections.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Full disclosure:  My review of the first book is blurbed on the jacket of this second.  A great surprise to discover!

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Acorns Everywhere!

| Tasha

 

Acorns Everywhere! by Kevin Sherry

The author of I’m the Biggest Thing in the Ocean returns with a new character that toddlers are sure to adore. 

Squirrels are running around gathering acorns as quickly as they can and this orange squirrel is doing the same.  Surrounded by so many acorns, he realizes that he has to hide them, gather them, dig and bury them.  He does, taking them right out of the paws of mice and the beaks of birds.  He almost gets in the way of a bear reaching for berries.  Then his stomach starts to growl.  But… where did he put all of the acorns? 

Done in Sherry’s signature wide-lined illustrations and large blocks of color, the pictures have a child-like feeling and cartoony style.   Sherry mixes in photographs of acorns and berries to great effect.  His words are simple and even sparse, allowing the bulk of the story to be told through the pictures. 

Toddlers will be drawn to the illustrations and will find a book that they themselves can “read” after only a few readings with adults.  This orange squirrel is sure to become a beloved fall fixture in story times for toddlers.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Strega Nona’s Harvest

| Tasha

Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie dePaola

Rejoice!  A new Strega Nona book is here!

Every spring, Strega Nona plants her garden with seeds saved from the year before.  She carefully keeps records of where things were planted previous years and never plants them in the same place.  The garden is planted during a full moon, and is done perfectly with straight rows.  Big Anthony chafes under these rules and Bambolona’s bossiness, but he does his best.  Watching Strega Nona, he learns what her little bit of magic is to make the plants grow strong.  Then he finds some forgotten seeds and decides to prove to everyone that he can do just as well himself.  Needless to say, things grow out of hand and Big Anthony has to find a way to get himself out of the situation with funny results.

DePaola’s format is classic Strega Nona with his great lines, bright colors,and signature style.  The book has both large illustrations and smaller ones with white space between them, lending them a comic strip style that  is recognizably dePaola.  His writing is clever, simple and great fun.  The Italian that is thrown in makes it a joy to read aloud as do the various character voices. 

An feast of autumnal fun featuring Strega Nona can only be delicious.  Appropriate for ages 4-7.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Boo to You!

| Tasha

Boo to You! by Lois Ehlert

A new Ehlert picture book is always cause for celebration, a Halloween celebration in this case. 

The mice are in the garden preparing for their harvest party.  But then the cat shows up, making them very nervous.  The mice continue to decorate, creating jack-o-lanterns out of pumpkins and other vegetables.  When the cat appears in the middle of the party, the mice have found a way to defend themselves with very funny results.

Ehlert excels at simplicity.  Her books have a minimal number of words, but still have a storyline, action, and humor.  Perfection to share with toddlers and preschoolers with shorter attention spans.  Ehlert’s illustrations are always wonderful.  Here she works with paper combined with garden objects and photographs of squash and vegetables.  She perfectly captures the feel of late autumn with seeds, pods, and twine.  Her collages are great fun to pore over and try to figure out what they are made out of.  She uses pumpkin seeds as teeth to great effect!  Children will want to talk about the illustrations, touch them to see if they can feel them, and just linger for awhile in Ehlert’s world.

Highly recommended, this is a great Halloween book for little children.  It has no witches, monsters, or anything frightening.  Just mice, a cat, and lots of squash.  Appropriate for ages 2-5.

Reviewed from copy received from publisher.

Leaf Trouble

| Tasha

Leaf Trouble by Jonathan Emmett, illustrated by Caroline Jayne Church

Pip, the squirrel,  lives in an oak tree and knows that tree very well.  But something has been happening so slowly that he never noticed: the leaves have changed color and are starting to fall off!  Pip runs around and tries to catch all of the leaves, he and his sister gather them into a big pile, and then they try to reattach some.  That doesn’t work, of course, but his mother appears then and explains about the tree needing to rest over the winter.  She then explains that the leaves are like the setting sun each evening, disappearing but returning in the morning.  The book ends with the young squirrels comparing the reds and yellows of the leaves with the colors of the sunset.

I have read many picture books over the years about children and animals panicking when leaves start to fall from the trees.  But this one deserves a spot on your library shelves because of the intelligent tie-in with the setting sun.  Children will immediately understand the connection to something they experience each and every day.

Emmett has written this in a voice that should be read aloud.  His prose has depth, humor and a nice cadence.  The first paragraph of the book is inviting, clever, and sets the tone nicely for the rest to come.  Church’s illustrations are perfect for the seasonal tone of the book.  Done with paper art, they are filled with tumbling bright-colored leaves that have a dimension and shadow to them.  They will work well with a large group of children because of their size and color.  

A great combination of author and illustrator, this autumnal title will have you falling for it immediately.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.

Applesauce Season

| Tasha

Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson, illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein

A perfect book to ease into autumn!  A little boy and his family make applesauce every year just around the time school starts.  They go to the farmer’s market and pick out all sorts of apples for sauce and for eating.  The little boy is in charge of washing the apples when they get home and then his mother and grandmother cut them into pieces.  Into the pot they go with just the right amount of liquid.  When they soften, the little boy gets to help put them through a food mill.  Then a bit of butter, a pinch of salt and just the right amount of cinnamon sugar are added.  The father in the family doesn’t help with the applesauce, instead he makes things to go with it and applesauce cake to use the last of it up.  Throughout the fall, the family makes applesauce together with the color and taste of it changing as the season moves on.

The details of the making of the applesauce is the bulk of this story, though it is about not only the process but a family that cooks together and enjoys it immensely.  Lipson has just the right touch with the text which is explanatory and simple, allowing children to see how it is done.  One delightful part is how much the little boy is allowed to do.  Children will see themselves as part of the action rather than observers.  Gerstein adds the beaming faces of the family as they cook together, the bright colors of the apples, and the changing faces of the applesauce.  His illustrations are just as comforting and welcome as a warm spoonful of applesauce.

This is a lovely celebration of food and family with just the right sweetness and spice.  Highly recommended for apple story times and units, especially for those classrooms and libraries that create applesauce with the children.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.