Fall Leaves

by Loretta Holland, Elly MacKay (Illustrator)

Overview

Autumn is in the air: days grow shorter and nights are long. Birds leave, flowers, too. Apples and temperatures fall—then snow!

Part poem, part silent stage, this luminous picture book puts autumn on display and captures the spirit of change that stays with us long after fall leaves. Unlock the secrets of this busy and beautiful time of year as the natural world makes way for winter.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544106642
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	09/02/2014
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,103,789
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD810L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

Loretta Holland makes her home near the Nantahala National Forest, where she has spent many fall days in the woods with friends and family. She lives in Franklin, NC.

Elly MacKay is a paper artist living in Owen Sound, Ontario, with her husband and two children. Visit ellymackay.com to learn more.

Editorial Reviews

"Ethereal and lovely...gives a sense of time standing still as nature starts to slow down in preparation for the winter." —Booklist "Two children experience all that nature has to offer across a fall season oin a northern temperate climate...The many observations of change include those in weather, plants and animals, and sunlight. It's the last that's most brilliant captures in the illustrations, in which the glowing gold of early fall sunlight changes, page by page, to the colder blue light of winter." —Horn Book Magazine   "This picture book cleverly maximizes the different meaning of the title words to teach readers about autumn....there's as much value in the wordplay as there is in the presented facts." —School Library Journal   —

From the Publisher

07/01/2014
Gr 2–4—This picture book cleverly maximizes the different meaning of the title words to teach readers about autumn. For example, apples and leaves "fall," and when fall ends and winter officially starts, the temperature "falls," as do the first flakes of snow. Similarly, summer "leaves," as do the birds to fly South, along with leaves and flowers. Directions are included on how to make leaf prints. The ink and photography illustrations make for appealing landscapes, with two redheaded children walking through or playing in most of the scenes; however, the images do not often support all the ideas presented in the text. For example, the description of the earth's rotation (explaining the arrival of fall) is paired with an illustration of the children bike down a hill. Nevertheless, there's as much value in the wordplay as there is in the presented facts.—Joanna K. Fabicon, Los Angeles Public Library

School Library Journal

2014-05-28
Autumn arrives in a series of three-dimensional tableaux created from cut yupo (plastic) paper and ink; illuminated from varying angles, the vignettes are cleverly photographed and cropped for dramatic effect.A redheaded boy and girl play in a treehouse, bike through the countryside, watch birds take flight and dance with umbrellas in scenes that include intense light or brilliant autumnal colors. The duo is generally in sharp focus, while borders and backgrounds are blurred, a decision suggesting depth, motion or otherworldliness, depending on the composition. The text has two layers. On one level, the large, two-word concepts that function as headings on each verso could be read as the sole verbal narrative. There is a playful quality as a word’s meaning changes relative to its use as a noun or verb: “FLOWERS LEAVE / APPLES FALL / LEAVES FALL / FALL STAYS / LEAVES LEAVE.” Although this verbal chain misses some opportunities for more artful linkages, the real problem lies with the second layer of text. Holland tries to provide scientific explanations about the Earth’s rotation, chlorophyll, hibernation, etc., without the benefit of diagrams or much in the way of scientific context. The effect is a lengthy muddle of didactic distraction that is not appropriate for the target age or the ethereal illustrations.Skip the small print and linger instead on the seasonal glory unfolding as the pages turn. (activity) (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews