Seasons

Seasons by Anne Crausaz
2011

     There are four seasons and five senses to explore them.   Following a circular structure, a girls enjoys the touch, smells, sights, tastes, and sounds of a year of seasons, starting with the spring, then summer, autumn, winter, and back to spring again.   She sees the greens of spring, hears the blackbirds singing, and feels the tickle on her finger as a ladybug lands on it. In the summer she can see the "fireflies, like flying stars," smell the vegetables in the garden, listen to a summer storm, feel the warm air and the cold ocean. In the autumn she can "taste the first blackberries, sweet and sour at the same time," smell the moss, and hear the cracking of the leaves as she jumps on them.  In the winter, she can smell the wood fires and taste the snowflakes. And soon, "the flowers will start growing up through the snow, ready for...spring."
     Seasons was originally published in french under the title Premier Printemps.  Crausaz illustrations are clean, bright and beautiful (I have a soft spot for the girls rosy cheeks). The text is simple, but still lyrical.  It's a great book to use in the classroom to introduce the seasons, but even better, as a way to encourage children to use their five senses to add details to their writing.  Great read aloud to use in a mini lesson as a mentor text for sensory details.  Use your senses to explore the world.