Book review by Raechel Schink, recent intern at IFLS. Thanks Raechel!
Fogliano,
Julie. and then it’s spring. Illus.
Erin E. Stead. Roaring Brook Press. (978-159-643-6244) Ages 4 and up.
The perfect book choice to teach children about
spring. and then it’s spring is very
sweet and the illustrations are a great addition to the storytelling. Readers
follow a young boy, a dog, a bird, a rabbit, and a bird as they discover
spring.
The story is a poem broken into sections spread out
on different pages. Fogliano writes about being out in nature and discovering
spring and the life that comes with it. All together the poem is endearing,
making even an adult want to go out and rediscover what the world looks like in
the spring. There are, unfortunately, parts that are a bit awkward to read,
since the poem has been broken up into chunks. Other than a few little
stumbles, the story reads smoothly through.
The drawings are adorable. Stead keeps her use of color choice to a minimum in the
beginning, mostly browns and dulls. Brown helps show how the land looks
deserted and barren. Then slowly as spring comes to life, more color is brought
into the story. The first picture in the book is of the little boy, still wearing
winter apparel, and his animal friends standing in a brown empty area. Then
slowly the boy and his friends plant seeds and get ready for spring to appear.
The last illustration of the story is of the little boy and his friends
enjoying all the green life around them since spring finally arrived.
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