A child experiences the colors and textures of fall. - (Baker & Taylor)
As the first in the Celebrate the Seasons! series, this title helps youngsters learn about the purpose of autumn through easy projects, a simple question-and-answer section, and more. - (Baker & Taylor)
Booklist Reviews
Gr. 2-4, younger for reading aloud. This is the first of four interrelated books on the seasons, designed with the elementary-school nature curriculum in mind. Children can identify with the blue-jean-clad boy who narrates what he sees, touches, smells, and hears in fall. The story expands into what animals do in the fall and what changes nature itself undergoes: shorter days, crisper air, bare trees. The boy's rousing conclusion--"It's fall! It's fall! I love it all!"--exactly suits his eager exploration. The three-dimensional, cut-paper artwork both grabs attention and invites kids in for a closer look at naturalistic details. A listing of autumnal nature activities concludes. Glaser, the author of many well-received nature titles, has another winner here. ((Reviewed September 15, 2001)) Copyright 2001 Booklist Reviews
Horn Book Guide Reviews
GlaserÆs poetic text celebrates the sights, sounds, and activities of fall: jumping in leaves, watching animals prepare for winter, and planting bulbs for next spring. Though itÆs distracting that the text rhymes only intermittently and even then often just vaguely, SwanÆs cut-paper illustrations are bursting with color and movement, reminding us that even autumn is full of life. Seasonal activity ideas are appended. Copyright 2002 Horn Book Guide Reviews
Kirkus Reviews
This celebration of all things autumn will delight young children as they begin to imagine piles of leaves for jumping and big orange pumpkins for carving. The lyrical text follows a young boy as he watches the animals and plants begin their journey into the colder months ahead. Readers will almost be able to hear the crunch of the fallen leaves underfoot and the rattling of the dry cattails-and smell the warm, salty smell of roasted pumpkin seeds through this first in a four-volume series that investigates the seasons. Beautiful photographs of cut paper that can only be described as sculptural accompany the simple text. From the young boy's spiky, orange hair to the wispy tendrils of the milkweed as it is caught up by the wind, the layers of color give the illustrations a depth that paint alone would have a difficult time replicating. Following the narrative is a section detailing many nature activities to do in the fall, including planting bulbs for the spring, creating a compost pile, and taking a moonlit walk. Nature seems to come alive within the pages of this beautiful and interesting tribute to the many joys of autumn. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus 2001 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved
School Library Journal Reviews
PreS-Gr 1-A young boy describes what happens to animals, plants, and people in the autumn. Simple sentences explain that geese, hawks, and monarch butterflies migrate while other creatures hibernate, including the ladybug, earthworm, and frog. While the imagery of the harvest moon and silky milkweed is vivid, attimes the text's rhythm feels awkward-"It's fall!/The air is turning crisp and cold./It's time to wear our warmer clothes./We put on jackets and pants and long sleeves/to keep us warm when it turns breezy." The stunning cut-paper art in the spectrum of autumn colors is highly detailed, richly textured, and fully supports the text. A long list of seasonal nature activities at the end of the book includes collecting seeds to plant in spring and going outside with a grown-up to look at the moon and stars. Consider Zoe Hall's Fall Leaves Fall! (2000) and It's Pumpkin Time! (1994, both Scholastic) as simpler companions.-Linda M. Kenton, San Rafael Public Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
