Spring is Here (Board Book)

Spring is here written and illustrated by Taro Gomi. Chronicle Books, 1999. ISBN 978-0-8118-2331-9 (board book)

Reader's Annotation: The cycle of the seasons is explored with simple text and beautifully designed illustrations which center around a calf growing up.

Summary: Gomi's story begins in spring with a new calf. As the snow melts, and plants begin to grow, the season changes to summer with green, green grass and thunderstorms. Summer turns into fall and harvest time, which leads into winter and snow. As winter fades into spring, the young calf reappears, but has changed and grown over the course of a year.

With cheerful artwork and very simple text, Gomi has captured the beauty of each of the four seasons, and has included many small details in the illustrations that are worthy of examination and discussion. 

Critical Evaluation: Gomi's art can be appreciated on multiple levels. For babies who are still working on focusing and color perception, the bold swaths of highly contrasting colors will capture their attention. For toddlers, the movement depicted in the artwork as well as the vibrant coloring of the illustrations will draw them in. Additionally, the children, adults, and animals that are depicted in each two-page spread will help young readers develop a more personal connection to the passage of the seasons.

As toddlers develop into pre-schoolers, they may notice another level of possibility in the illustrations. Are all of these scenes of landscapes and individuals taking place on the back of the calf? Is that waving grass and ripening grain actually the calf's fur? Gomi encourages creative imagining with the open-ended nature of his artwork. 

The pattern of cycling back to where the story began, in spring, can be very reassuring to young children, especially during repeat readings. Knowing where the story is going, and arriving at a familiar place is soothing, and can be very beneficial when incorporated into a bedtime routine.

Age or Interest Level: Ages 0 to 4

Awards: Bologna Graphic Prize Winner

Why Included? Gomi's illustrations are lovely from a graphic design perspective, and can be appreciated by people of all ages.

Firefly July: a Year of Very Short Poems

Firefly July: a Year of Very Short Poems. Selected by Paul B. Janeczko, illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Candlewick Press, 2014. ISBN 978-0-7636-4842-8

Reader's Annotation: For anyone who experienced poetry as a child as something to be drilled into memory, or picked apart and analyzed, prepare to be astounded. This is how poetry should be first introduced and experienced!

Summary: Beginning with spring, poems that are just the right length for young children express the feeling and mood of each season. With selections from poets such as Carl Sandburg, Langston Hughes, and Emily Dickinson, this illustrated work provides a perfect introduction to the world of poetry. The included poems are about many things that a child would be familiar with, like animals, nature, weather, cities, and people.

Sweet's illustrations capture the essence of each poem, and welcome the reader to pause and savor the details included in each piece of artwork that accompanies each poem. Perfect for browsing, or for reading straight through, preschoolers and early elementary children can enjoy this book in whichever quantity they prefer.

Critical Evaluation: Poetry can be somewhat intimidating, but the selections included here are so approachable, and deal with such everyday happenings, that the way is made clear for children can discover that poetry is simply another way to express ideas and feelings. With Sweet's illustrations playing such a prominent role in each poems one or two-page coverage, children familiar with picture books will feel comfortable while exploring this new narrative style.

The watercolor, gouache, and mixed media illustrations highlight the key ideas contained in each poem, and together provide a full experience of the work for children to explore. The subject matter and narrator's voice switch quickly from one poem to the next, but Sweet's illustrative style provides a constancy that unites the individual, disparate works into a continuously flowing whole.

Age or Interest Level: Ages 4 to 8

Lexile Level: 540L

Awards: ALA Notable Books for Children 2015, Younger Readers; Parents' Choice Gold Award

Why Included? I was one of the unfortunate souls whose introduction to poetry was unpleasant, but this book would have provided me with a completely opposite experience. If I could time travel, I would take a copy of this beautiful book to my six-year-old self, and hope for a different outcome.