Glaser and Swan team up once again in this eye-catching and informative ode to nature, the second in a series of seasonal titles (It’s Fall!, 2001, etc.). Speaking through the voice of a narrator, Glaser uses simple language to convey the changes brought by spring: warmer weather, budding plants, and awakening animals. “I run outside in thin pants and short sleeves. / No thick heavy winter coat bundled around me. / I skip and leap and feel light and free. / Fresh air rushes all over me.” On the next page, “Creeks and streams are starting to flow.” In cut-paper collage created from hand-painted papers, Swan’s gorgeous depiction of water rushing down a mountainside comes alive with swirling marbled paper and a slate-blue sky flecked with white. In the foreground, sculptured, sun-colored daffodils shoot up around the rocks. Later, Swan’s palette turns deep blue and mossy green as a troupe of wide-eyed “spring peepers and bullfrogs sing” amidst the rushes. The narrator and his dog, who’s howling at the moon, appear as small silhouettes below the star-dappled sky. In the end, Glaser suggests a series of “Nature Activities to Do in the Spring.” A natural choice for springtime reading. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-7613-1760-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Millbrook
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2002
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers.
Echoing the meter of “Mary Had a Little Lamb,” Ward uses catchy original rhymes to describe the variety of nests birds create.
Each sweet stanza is complemented by a factual, engaging description of the nesting habits of each bird. Some of the notes are intriguing, such as the fact that the hummingbird uses flexible spider web to construct its cup-shaped nest so the nest will stretch as the chicks grow. An especially endearing nesting behavior is that of the emperor penguin, who, with unbelievable patience, incubates the egg between his tummy and his feet for up to 60 days. The author clearly feels a mission to impart her extensive knowledge of birds and bird behavior to the very young, and she’s found an appealing and attractive way to accomplish this. The simple rhymes on the left page of each spread, written from the young bird’s perspective, will appeal to younger children, and the notes on the right-hand page of each spread provide more complex factual information that will help parents answer further questions and satisfy the curiosity of older children. Jenkins’ accomplished collage illustrations of common bird species—woodpecker, hummingbird, cowbird, emperor penguin, eagle, owl, wren—as well as exotics, such as flamingoes and hornbills, are characteristically naturalistic and accurate in detail.
A good bet for the youngest bird-watchers. (author’s note, further resources) (Informational picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-2116-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Jan. 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2014
A snow-covered countryside may look barren of life, but Stewart’s quiet text takes readers under the blanket of white to “a hidden world” where ladybugs sleep en masse and voles tunnel from tree to tree, where a wood frog freezes safely solid and bluegills and waterboatmen share frigid waters, where a turtle lies buried in mud and “even on the coldest winter days, red-spotted newts dodge and dart, whiz and whirl just below the ice.” Bergum’s equally quiet watercolors spread across the pages in panels that offer cross-sections and magnified details to give readers glimpses of the world beneath the snow. Their precision lends a dignity and beauty even to a sleeping centipede and a barbeled carp. Readers will come away with an appreciation for the adaptability and endurance of the animal world. (Informational picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-1-56145-493-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Peachtree
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2009
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