Sorry that this one is late! There were a lot of unfortuante circumstances that led to the lateness, but it's all better now.
We're heading toward Fall, and perhaps I'm a tad over-excited about the cool weather that is bound to come in any day now. Right? Of course! And to celebrate the coming of Fall and all of its colder, crisper goodness, we had a story time today that was focused on apples. Which in hindsight probably was a funny jump from cookies the previous week...Balance! Life needs balance!
A Leaf Can Be...by Laura Purdie Salas; illustrated by Violetta Dabija
ISBN: 9780761362036
First off, I love the illustrations in this one. Violeta Dabija did a great job on all of the drawings, and they are the main focus of this book. They're whimsical yet simplistic at the same time, and almost all of the drawings have soft, blurred and rounded edges. It's a warm, inviting way of drawing, and I particularly enjoyed her style.
Salas' book is a poetic explanation of what a leaf can be at different stages of its existence. The seasons also partly control what the leaf can be at that time. A leaf can be a "water ladle" or a "mouth filler" during spring and summer, and in the fall and winter, a leaf can be a "ground warmer" and a "pile grower." While there is not much of a plot, the story flows from spring to winter, following the seasons through the year. It was a really fun book to start story time with, and I think the illustrations were very captivating. Also, it was neat to ask if the kids could see hidden animals in the pictures, like the moths and the snake. Overall, nice book for story time!
Tucker's Apple-Dandy Day by Susan Winget
ISBN: 9780060546465
Tucker has promised his mother that he will bring home apples for an apple pie from his field trip. However, when he gets to the orchard, he spends so much time helping his friends pick apples that he isn't able to get any for himself. Luckily, Tucker has great friends, and he learns through them that helping others is a very good thing! This book is wonderful for teaching kids about apples, friendship and helping out one's friends. It promotes and reinforces the message even though helping friends might cost you something, helping others is always the right thing to do. Both my story time kids and the parents liked this book. Plus, the illustrations are super cute. Tucker is an adorable stuffed bunny but he's not too cutesy. Most of the ilustrations have nice details and the words do not obsure the drawings. Super fun to read!
All for Pie, Pie for All by David Martin; illustrated by Valeri Gorbachev
ISBN: 9780763623937
Who's hungry? In All for Pie, Pie for All, apparently everyone is, from the oldest cat to the youngest ant, and everyone wants a piece of Grandma Cat's apple pie! The story goes from the cats eating the pie to the mice eating the pie to the ants eating the pie until it's all gone. Then the cycle starts all over again at the end of the book, but this time, everyone helps to make the pie. The illustrations reminded me just a little of Richard Scarry, and I guess that made me a little nostalgic about Busytown, but I really did like the drawings in this picture book. There were a lot of neturals used, which I think gives the book a home-y feel to it. That's definitely a good thing when you're reading a book about apple pie!
No comments:
Post a Comment