And Then It's Spring

Quiet. Contemplative. Poetic. All could be used to describe this lovely picture book with illustrations by Erin E. Stead. Spring is actually never mentioned explicitly in the text; instead the focus is on describing the details, particularly the colors that lead from winter to spring. A boy, a dog, a rabbit, a turtle and some birds are all players in Stead's illustrations that chronicle the planting and early sprouting of a garden. Careful observers will enjoy looking to see what each one is doing on all of the spreads. Both Stead and Fogliano add just the right amount of whimsy to balance the predominantly thoughtful tone. This would be a great title for young families that are planning a garden and need to reinforce the importance of show more patience in growing things or just for anyone who likes to watch and explore the outside world. show less

A child plants seeds and waits patiently for them to grow. All around it is brown, a hopeful kind of brown, a greenish hum kind of brown, and still the child waits. It takes time. It takes rain. Sun. And then there's the question of whether the seeds were eaten by birds or stomped on by bears. And then, finally, the brown turns to green, and what a wonderful page-turn that is!

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano is a poetry book for young children. It's about how it goes from brown and gloomy to spring. I only gave it three stars because I think it needed a deeper exploration of the theme and it could benefit from a more developed narrative. But one thing I think they did wonderful on was the illustrations. The illustrations added so much because they vividly portrayed the changing seasons and the characters' emotion really well. This book is relevant to children because it mirrors their own experiences of waiting and hoping for something new. The book teaches them patience and the recurring nature of life, showing that even after a period of nothing happening there's always the promise of growth and renewal.

I loved this story. I think this would be an awesome story to read to kids in a gardening class. It teaches about the waiting game of gardening and how environments change with seasons.

A little boy, his dog, and his rabbit plant a garden and wait for spring to arrive. The world is brown and they must wait through days and rain, fears of birds and bears. It is a simple story of hope and waiting. The illustrations are simple and sweet, the colors not bright but milky and classic. The whole feel of the story is one of earlier days of childhood, but it is a little somber.

I LOVED this book. I especially loved the illustrations! They were so weird and out there but so unique at the same time! This is a sweet story about a young boy who went out and planted some seeds. He waits patiently and checks everyday for his seeds to grow. The illustrations add to the story a lot when they are waiting for spring because they are mostly dull brown colors. Once spring comes, the green starts to appear, which is also what they touch on during the actual story line itself. This book would be fun to fuel a discussion in the classroom about seasons, gardening, etc.

A very earthy, sober and understated book. The pictures are beautiful and it's a good lesson about patience. My son was very interested in the story. (We're growing tomatoes in front of our house, and he's very involved this year. But it takes a long time!) I really liked the pictures of what was taking place in the soil (under the surface), they were so enlightening and we had a good discussion about how the plants take roots and all the little critters digging holes and tunnels into the earth.