When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons

Sheesh. This should be right up my alley. Nature poetry for children, pretty pictures, an author I've previously enjoyed. But no. The 'poems' are trite and instantly forgettable. The pictures are merely greeting card pretty. And the subject matter is very specific - I do not believe there are very many children who live where there are four seasons that fall exactly on the calendar dates (I know I never have lived in such a place, and certainly city children will be awfully lucky to have even half of these experiences at any time). But this is what Bechtel would call a 'parlor gift book' and what I would compare to Disney or Kincaid. Don't bother.

Opening and closing on March 20th, at the beginning of spring and the end of winter, this collection of forty-nine poems - some short, some long - chronicles the beauties of the year, with sections devoted to each of the seasons. The same poem book-ends the collection on each end, and makes for a lovely introduction and conclusion: "from a snow covered tree / one bird singing / each tweet poking / a tiny hole / through the edge of winter / and landing carefully / balancing gently / on the tip of spring."

From hot days at the beach to cold days snuggled up reading in a chair, the experiences depicted here are those many children might share, and correspond to the time of year. Fogliano captures the way in which seasonal change affects show more life for children very nicely in her poems, and some of her word choice, when describing the beauty of the natural world, is quite striking. I enjoyed the poems in When Green Becomes Tomatoes, which reminded me of some of my own joy at different times of the year, and found the accompanying artwork by Julie Morstad just lovely. Recommended to anyone looking for good collections of poetry for young children, or for seasonal picture-books. show less

This impressive poetry picture book documents a young girl's journey through the year, beginning with entries in the month of March, and ending again in the next year's month of March, with a bird singing in a snowy tree in expectation of the coming return of spring, "each tweet poking- a tiny hole- through the edge of winter- and landing carefully- balancing gently- on the tip of spring." The book begins and ends with this same image and poem, subtly connoting the cyclical nature of the turning year. This book carefully depicts the change of the seasons with striking images. The poetry is quite moving with some truly beautiful lines, and it really captures the essence of each moment. The illustrations depict different seasonal show more activities and the changing flora throughout the year. Children could read this book during the corresponding months depicted in the book's entries or together as a read along in class. This book explores artistic concepts and helps children make comparisons and draw connections between the passing months of the year.

Many of the poems in this work were written in a style reminiscent of poet ee cummings.

The art was created with gouache and pencil crayon. show less

This collection of poetry works it way beautifully through the seasons. Each poem's title is actually a date and it represents that time of the year. The poems are lyrical, beautiful, and create images in your mind like waking up to new fallen snow or biting into a juicy peach. The illustrations are simple and charming. I think this would make an excellent resource for a poem of the day as these poems would be perfect just to enjoy and share with students.

In her poetry, Julie Fogliano reminds us of the beauty of seasons. Starting with the eve of spring, march 20: "from a snow-covered tree/one bird singing/each tweet poking/a tiny hole/through the edge of winter/and landing carefully/balancing gently/on the tip of spring".

I really loved most of the poems in this book and plan to reread them. Some have the rhythm and charm of nursery rhymes that could be repeated and easily memorized. Some make such strong impressions of seasons, and longing that they caught my breath: windows into nature that both adults and children could appreciate.

I would absolutely recommend this to any elementary (or middle school) teacher to get students enthused about poetry and more attuned to nature, and to show more introduce seasons to primary kids. (The poems are dates, so they would lend themselves perfectly to a school schedule.) Some of the short ones would be fun to memorize/chant, to feel the sound/images of poetry, and others would challenge children to see differently. I don't think children would appreciate just reading through this book; one a day or week (a little the way it's set up) would be perfect, and I think children would love rereading each poem for a week and would look forward to discovering the next one.

I have mixed feelings about the illustrations. Some, especially for june 30, are perfect. All are charming, with lovely textures. However, I found the large-headed, big-eyed children and the straight horizon lines in most of the pictures repetitious. show less

This book is filled with poems that embody what comes with each season. Each poem is titled a date and then goes on to talk about what happens on that date, what the person felt, saw, smelled. I love this book for its simplicity in both the writing and illustrations. Each poem perfectly describes that date. For example, one poem titled March 26 described how dandelions also come too soon and then it gets cold again. How the dandelions wish they waited. The illustrations are done in pastel colors and never take up the entirety of a page. The illustrations are simple but perfectly capture what each poem is talking about. This book of poems’ is great for children of all ages. Allowing for children to make connections and compare and show more contrast their everyday life during that season. show less

I really enjoyed this book for multiple reasons, this book contains poetry written about the seasons and the changes they bring. It is written in a journal entry style, each poem is titled by it’s date of the year. Each poem is distinct and unique perfectly capturing the setting and how it plays on our senses. I think that this book is an excellent example of how poetry can teach students science. The illustrations match perfectly with the poetry, they are soft but colorful and expressive. They convey the imagery that the poems create in the readers mind.