Leaf Man

Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows?

No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.

Ehlert crafts each illustration out of actual fall leaves on every spread to reveal gorgeous landscapes. This playful and whimsical book celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children.

It might be my affinity to fall colors and fall leaves, but I really found this book to be delightful. The story is whimiscal, and imaginative - almost like a quirky poem. I love that the illustrations are made with copies of real leaves, and can just imagine the author exploring and seeking out new leaves to create art with. This would be fun to use in a classroom - perhaps to take students into nature and have them create their own leaf men. I especially like that the author included the names of specific leaves (and where some were found) on the back page. I think it could promote a more scientific, or detailed look at every day things.

A simple narrative about the "Leaf Man" - whose travels on the wind are documented in a dreamlike text - are joined to gorgeous collage-style illustrations in this autumn-themed picture-book from Lois Ehlert, whose Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf is another exploration of the beauty of trees and leaves. There isn't much to say, really, about the text here: it's not really a story, but is too unclear to be much of a seasonal meditation either. In short, I was completely indifferent, and like the friend who recommended this one (thank you, Lisa!), would have been just as happy if it had been omitted. The artwork, on the other hand, was very appealing, incorporating numerous fallen leaves (Ehlert apparently collects them, something with which I can show more greatly identify), and succeeding, both in color and light, in evoking the feeling of fall. Other than those who really appreciate these kind of visuals, though, I'm not really sure who I'd recommend it to... show less

Leaf Man is a truly beautiful book. With illustrations made almost entirely from fallen leaves and an acorn or two, the pictures are captivating and filled with natural color and texture. The simple sentences in Leaf Man are really just a vehicle to carry these phenomenal images. I also love how many of the leaves are labeled so that the reader can learn what kind of leaves create the pictures.

This book would be a great inspiration for an art project.. Students could try to emulate Leaf Man by telling a story about the pictures they create with fallen leaves and other natural objects.

A stunning book, rich pictures/characters made from leaves, complete with an artist note on the process. An odyssey into fall. A great companion book to use when discussing flight patterns, directions of wind, Fall, finding leaves in the neighborhood, learning which trees produce which leaves

A delightful book of fall colors and texture this book focus on the journey of the leaf man and where the wind might take him. With the turn of each irregularly cut page the reader is moved over mountain and hillsides with the leaves and the leaves take on new designs with each page. First, the leaves become chickens, later the leaves transform into fish and butterflies. Ehlert causes to look beyond the pile of leaves to the shapes that lie within and the Leaf Man that is waiting for each of you if you look.

Leaf Man is the journey of a pile of leaves, unknown to us, but we we can guess where he went. Maybe to the east with the wind, over ducks, geese, and turkeys? Over prairie cows and lakes? Well one thing we do know is that "a leaf man's got to go where the wind blows." This story invokes your imagination and wonder about all those leaves we so often see blowing around

The beautiful leaf images in this book surely inspire me to play with leaves. After reading this, I want to use leaves to make my own stories, and wonder a lot about their journeys. This would be a wonderful book to share in the fall, a true showcase of fall colors and spirit.