Books
Email
Print
The colorful season begins now
ADVERTISEMENT
Published: October 18, 2009
Hannah spent her autumn weekend in the mountains on the Young Life Windy Gap trip, thus giving younger sister Kilby a chance to contribute to our column. Plus, now that Kilby and her dad teach a Sunday school class for 3- and 4-year-olds, Kilby has a new perspective about what appeals to very young readers.These books are perfect companions for explaining why the landscape is turning vibrant yellow, orange and red, one of the best parts of living in North Carolina.
THE LITTLE YELLOW LEAF. By Carin Berger. HarperCollins. Ages 3-8. $16.99.
A little yellow leaf isn't quite ready to drop yet. Snow comes, and the little yellow leaf remains alone ... until he sees another leaf holding on as well.
With masterful illustrations, the story of friendship is told through two oak leaves finding each other for their journey into the wind.
LEAF TROUBLE. By Jonathan Emmett. Scholastic. Ages 3-8. $16.99.
If your young readers like watching the squirrels gathering acorns, then they will enjoy Pip Squirrel's story in Leaf Trouble. Pip is astonished to discover that the leaves in his oak tree are changing colors. Green had colored his treetop home, but his first fall is full of yellows, reds and oranges. He worries that his tree is falling apart as leaves start to blow off branches.Amazing art by illustrator Caroline Jayne Church increases the appeal of this fall selection.
STREGA NONA'S HARVEST. By Tomie dePaola. Penguin. Ages 4-8. $16.99.
Tomie dePaola canceled his recently scheduled visit to Greensboro because of health reasons. We hope for a hasty recovery for dePaola, one of the most influential writer/illustrators in American children's literature. In Strega Nona's Harvest, Strega Nona's tradition of keeping seeds that she harvested from the year before ensures a good crop. To get a bountiful harvest, she must plant them on a full moon and add a secret ingredient.
Her grandchildren help until they begin to bicker over plowing the rows straight enough. Big Anthony, the grandson, decides to plant his own garden and attempts to replicate Strega Nona's strategy for a secret ingredient. The family ends up with entirely too much to eat. The village in the valley is suffering from ruined crops because of excessive rain. Strega Nona's compassion feeds her hungry neighbors.
This is a great book to introduce giving to Crisis Control or to the Second Harvest Food Bank.
THE SCARECROW'S DANCE. By Jane Yolen. Simon & Schuster. Ages 4-8. $16.99.
In this rhythmic, captivating picture book, a scarecrow gets off his pole and dances his way to the far house. As he looks into the window of a little boy's room, he sees the boy praying that the farm will be safe and that there will be enough corn to harvest. When the scarecrow hears this, he realizes that he needs to go back to his pole to protect the corn. As he's returning to the cornfield, he wonders what kind of prayer a scarecrow says to God. This is our favorite selection by Jane Yolen, a prize-winning author of more than 300 books.
TESS'S TREE. By Jess M. Brallier. HarperCollins. Ages 4-7. $16.99.
In the corner of our old yard, a middle-age magnolia served as everyone's favorite tree. The sisters could climb and swing from its limbs or spy on Mr. Turner puffing on his pipe and taking his yellow lab Clipper out for a walk. In this book, Tess has a favorite tree. She plays in its leaves and camps out under its canopy of branches. She watches as it changes with each season. She is 9, and her tree is 175 years old.
When a storm damages the tree, it becomes a hazard and must come down. Tess grieves and decides to give her tree a funeral.
For anyone who has found joy and solace climbing or claiming a special tree, this book will resonate.
Monica Young and Kilby Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com. View book reviews at the Journal in Education site at www.jie.journalnow.com.
Email
Print
