Green

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger
Published by Roaring Brook Press
2012

     How many kinds of green are there?  In her new book Green, Laura Vaccaro will delight you with all the types of green -including the absence of it- that you can find in nature.  There is forest green,  sea green,  lime green, and fern green. Ok, so you might have expected those. But what about "slow green," or "shaded green," or "wacky green?"  And my absolute favorite: never green (illustrated with a huge bright red stop sign).  Each page is meant to be savored, holding a little secret in the form of small paper cutouts that transform into something new as you flip the pages.  It became a fun prediction game among the early readers I shared the book with -they were all trying to guess what the cut out would become as we explored new greens.
     Green is a gorgeous exploration of a single color, a homage to it.  It plays on the expected and unexpected and asks us to pay attention to nature and its wonders.  Great book to share with the youngest readers (and as a coffee table delight at home).

And Then It's Spring

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano
Illustrated by Erin E. Stead
Published by Roaring Brook Press
2012

     Winter is loosening its grip and outdoors everything is brown.  A boy and his dog (and a rabbit and a turtle) head out carrying a bag of seeds.  And then they wait. They wait for rain and sun.  "And it is still brown, but a hopeful, very possible sort of brown."  And they wait a bit more, looking for any sign of green. They worry about the little seeds and what could have happened to them to keep them from growing. Wait some more.  And then it's spring.
    And Then It's Spring is delightful, lyrical, and sweet. It's about patience and dedication.  It reminded me of one of my favorite picture books, The Carrot Seed,  and that's a really good thing.  The illustrations by the Caldecott Medal winner Erin E. Stead are gorgeous and feel as delicate as the little seeds fighting to bring the green into the picture.  Can't wait to share it in the classroom. Just beautiful!

White Snow Bright Snow

White Snow Bright Snow by Alvin Tresselt
Illustrated by Roger Duvoisin
Published by HarperCollins
1947
Caldecott Medal 1948

     I know it's been a unseasonably warm winter here in the US, and I would normally not complain. In fact, for someone who grew up by the Caribbean Ocean, a warm winter is a great winter.  But then you read White Snow Bright Snow, and the gorgeous text by Tresselt makes you wish you could look out your window and see the world covered in a snow blanket.

Softly, gently in the secret night,
Down from the North came the quiet white.
Drifting, sifting, silent flight,
Softly, gently, in the secret night.

     The postman, the farmer, and the policeman felt the snow approaching and each prepared for it accordingly.  The postman put on his rubbers, the farmer grabbed his snow shovel and the policeman buttoned up his coat. Suddenly "the air was filled with soft powdery snowflakes, whispering quietly as they sifted down." The children tried to catch the snowflakes on their tongues. That night, "silently, the frost made pictures of ice ferns on the window panes."
     Tresselt's beautiful descriptions of the snowy day continue:

[In the morning]
Automobiles looked like big fat raisins buried in snowdrifts.
Houses crouched together, their windows peeking out from under great white eyebrows.

      As the days start getting warmer, and spring starts making his way, "fence post lost their dunce caps, the snowman's arms dropped off, and running water gurgled in gutters and rain pipes." "And the children watched for the first robin to tell them Spring had really come."
      White Snow Bright Snow is a book to savor one line at time.  Unfortunately, for me, the illustrations don't capture the beauty of the text.  In fact, in the printing I read, there were instances where the grays of the background made it difficult to read the text.  But take may word for it, there is enough beauty in Tresselt's words to transport you to a winter wonderland. Just beautiful!

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.

Fall Mixed Up

Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka
Illustrated by Chad Cameron
2011

     In the Fall Mixed Up world, pumpkins turn red and apples turn orange, bears climb trees looking for nuts, while the geese cuddle underground and hibernate; the squirrels tie balloons around their waists so they can fly south; scarecrows watch over fields of candy corn sprouts; and "kids leap in great heaping piles of sticks.  You sit by bonfire to cool off and eat delicious caramel pumpkins.  You trick or treat for chicken drumsticks and give thanks for sweets.
     Fall Mixed Up will have kids looking at you wondering if you have noticed that everything is kind of, well, mixed up.  The illustrations are a beautiful compliment to the hilarity of the situations.  Great read aloud that offers a great chance for a text innovation activity, where students can create their own Mixed Up versions of the different seasons.  Delightful book to include in the autumn classroom and home libraries.

Leaves

Leaves by David Ezra Stein
2007

     It's the perfect time of the year to read Leaves. It's bear's first year and everything is going well until the leaves start falling.  He picks one off the floor and sweetly asks, "Are you okay?"  As more leaves fall, the young bear tries to "catch them and put them back on...but it was not the same."  He then grew sleepy, gathered some leaves to bring inside a little cave "and went to sleep, just as the wind began to blow."  The young bear sleeps through the winter, wakes up in the spring and when he sees the "little buds on the bare arms of the trees," he hugs them and joyfully cries "Welcome!"
       Leaves is lovely.  The young bear character is sweet, curious, and enamored with nature.  While the text is simple, it's also quite lyrical.  The illustrations are beautiful.  Leaves is a perfect book to read during this season and to introduce units about fall and hibernation. 

Duck Duck Moose

Duck Duck Moose by Dave Horowitz
2009

     Moose, wearing his awesome "I Love NH" t-shirt, is enjoying the cool weather. His two friends, the ducks, are definitely not.  It's time for them to head south.  Duck and Other Duck invite Moose to go south with them, but all Moose wants to do is get himself some pancakes.  Moose goes to Bear's Cave to invite him to have pancakes but Bear is already hibernating.  He checks out his favorite restaurant, Pancake Hut, but it's close for the season.  So Moose decides to join the ducks.  They get in a car and start their trek along the eastern seaboard.  They reach Florida and they have a blast together, hanging out at the beach, orange picking, golfing, even watching a shuttle launch. Winter is now over and it's time to go back home...and Moose cries all the way back. He now loves the warm weather and is proudly wearing a new t-shirt: I Love Florida.
     Duck Duck Moose is a hilarious road trip/family vacation tale.  The Moose is an adorable character that kids will surely embrace.  The details and little jokes included in the illustration will delight adults as well.  Its text is easy enough for young readers without losing it's read-aloud potential.  Great book to introduce migration and adaptations as well.

A Grand Old Tree

The Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell Depalma
2005

     My son loves to make up stories. He's 4, so his stories are either really short or they go on and on and on.  Last week, he got in the car and said, "Once upon a time, there was an old tree. Then it died. But then a young tree came and sang to him and he was alive again."  I tell you all this, because I just read The Grand Old Tree and it made me think of his story again.
     "Once there was a grand old tree. Her roots sank deep into the earth, her arms reached high into the sky." She lived for many seasons, flowering, bearing fruit, sowing seeds, and shedding her leaves. "She basked in the sun, bathed in the rain, swayed in the breeze." Her children spread far and wide. Eventually she got too old, dried out, fell down to the ground, "and snow gently covered her."  While she no longer flowered or sowed seeds, she was still home to many creatures and her trunk became one with the soil.  "Today the roots of her grandchildren sink deep into this earth. Their arms reach high into the sky."
     The Grand Old Tree is the story of the circle of life as experienced by a tree.  The illustrations are bright and in some cases, mingle with the words to form concrete poems.  The text is very accessible for the K-2 groups and offers a good introduction to the life cycle.

A Color of His Own

A Color of His Own by Leo Lionni
1975

     I grew up reading Leo Lionni books and getting lost in his beautiful illustrations.  I had Frederick and Alexander and the Wind-up Mouse at home, but I hadn't read A Color of His Own until my son got it as a gift when he was a baby.
     All animals have a color of their own: "elephants are gray", "pigs are pink", "parrots are green"...all but the chameleon who changes colors all the time.  And he doesn't like it anymore, he wants A Color of His Own.  He decides to stay on a leaf so that he can be green forever.  The problem is that as the season change, the leaf changes color and with it, so does the chameleon.  Sad and "black in the long winter night" chameleon waited alone.  When spring came he found another chameleon and told him his "sad story": "Won't we ever have a color of our own?"  The other chameleon, who was older and wiser, explained that they will never have a color of their own, but it they stayed together, they will change at the same time and always share their special colors. And so they lived happily ever after.
     A Color of His Own is a sweet story of friendship and companionship.  It's a nice way of introducing colors and seasons to the youngest ones at home, so I highly recommend the boar book edition.
   

Lottie's New Beach Towel

Lottie's New Beach Towel by Petra Mathers
1998

     Lottie the hen gets a very special package from her Aunt Mattie.  Inside she finds a note "This might come in handy this summer," and a brand new red and white polka-a-dot beach towel.  The towel came handy right away since Lottie was having a picnic that same day with her best friend Herbie.  Through out the day, the beach towel keeps coming in handy and helping Lottie solve all sort of problems.  She gets to use the towel as a sail and a blanket.  The towel even saves a wedding day, when Lottie manages a to turn it into a veil that the bride had lost.
    The beauty of Lottie's New Beach Towel lies on its illustration and in the concise language that keeps the story moving quickly through many mishaps and situations.  I've used the book in class a couple of times, covering the text and having the students write the story themselves.  It's a very cool summer read aloud.

City Dog, Country Frog

City Dog, Country Frog by Mo Willems
Illustrated by Jon J Muth

     I've been a Mo Willems' fan since we fell in love with his Knuffle Bunny (if you haven't read it yet, get it and its two follow ups immediately).  It's such a big part of my boy's life that he has a bunny he sleeps with called Bunnynuffle (he heard the story in Spanish many times, so I think that's why he switched the order of the words in the name).  When I came across City Dog, Country Frog I was surprised to see the Willems hadn't done his own illustrations but once I started reading I wasn't disappointed.  Jon J. Muth watercolors are absolutely beautiful and bring a level of tenderness to this wonderful story of friendship.
     City Dog and Country Frog share a year playing together.  We see them learn about each other through the seasons and developing an unexpected and beautiful friendship.  The story is truly touching and sweetly explores the circle of life and the joy of true friends. 

Ant and Grasshopper

Ant and Grasshopper by Luli Gray
Illustrated by Giuliano Ferri
2011

     We are all familiar with the classic Aesop's fable of the Ant and the Grasshopper.  The grasshopper spends all his time relaxing, singing and playing around while the ant works tirelessly.  Winter comes, the grasshopper has nothing to eat while the ant is well prepared.  Lesson: always plan ahead.  So...I never really liked that fable. I thought the ant was too cruel! I mean, true, the grasshopper should have worked harder but, to let him starve to death? Come on!  That's why I was very glad to come across this new version of the fable by Luli Gray.
     In  Gray's version of Ant and Grasshopper,  Ant is an accountant obsessed with counting all her possessions over and over again, making sure he has enough stored for the winter.  Grasshopper spends his summer playing the fiddle and singing...and driving Ant nuts with all that noise!  Eventually, as in Aesop's fable, winter comes and Grasshopper comes knocking at Ant's door asking for warmth and food.  Ant first slams the door and leaves Grasshopper out in the cold.  But during that night's sleep, Ant has a nightmare that wakes him up and sends him to his doorstep to find Grasshopper about to die out in the cold.  Ant saves him and they begin a wonderful friendship.  While Ant shared his food, Grasshopper taught Ant to love music.  The final line in Gray's version has a much better moral to the fable: "Everybody counts."

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors

Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors by Joyce Sidman
Illustrated by Pamela Zagarenski
2009

     April is Poetry month, so I'm happy start it with a beautiful poetry picture book. Red Sings from Treetops: A Year in Colors is full of lovely imagery and poetic language.  Through its pages, colors take on the seasons.  Red sings from treetops during Spring, Yellow slips goldfinches their spring jackets.  Blue grows new names in the summer: turquoise, azure, cerulean.   White dazzles day and turns night inside out in the summer.  Just beautiful!  This is a book to be read slowly, over and over, all at once, or just the verses for the season of the time.  Its illustrations are also gorgeous, dreamlike, and works of art on their own (they were awarded the Caldecott Honor).
     Some of Red Sing's vocabulary might seem advanced for younger kids, but I've always believed in exposure, exposure, exposure.  Children are sponges, drench them in rich language and they'll surprise you.  For teachers, this book offers plenty of opportunities to explore personification, onomatopoeias, metaphors, similes and of course, poetry.  Happy Poetry Month!