Leaf Man (Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Lois Ehlert (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2005 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Series: Ala Notable Children's Books. Younger Readers (Awards) | Lexile Measure: 310L (What's this?)

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.

With illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas, here is a playful, whimsical, and evocative book that celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children.

Includes an author's note and leaf-identifying labels.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Ehlert (Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf) returns to one of her favorite themes—the rainbow beauty of autumn leaves—for this refreshing riff on leaf peeping and collecting. A narrator recalls the Leaf Man that used to live nearby but recently blew away with the wind. "He left no travel plans." From that breezy beginning, the narrator imagines the different flight patterns the Leaf Man may have followed "past the chickens, toward the marsh,... over the prairie meadows,... past the spotted cows," and punctuates the lyrical text with an occasional refrain ( "a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows"). All the while, Ehlert sparks her foliage flight of fancy with her snazzy leaf collages. Fiery maple, brown mottled catalpa and bright yellow ginko leaves take the shape of various animals and objects on each spread. The boldly colored background papers, of varying texture, make the leaves pop. And, in the type of clever book design for which Ehlert is known, the pages are die-cut and/or patchworked at the top to create a rolling, flowing effect throughout. Endpapers serve as a labeled field guide to leaf varieties and an author's note expresses Ehlert's passion for her subject, and describes her art technique. After this visual feast, young nature lovers are sure to look with fresh eyes as they walk through the woods. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
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From School Library Journal

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3–Ehlert combines vivid collage artwork, effulgent colors, and an inventive design to create an eye-catching picture book. With a body made of fallen leaves and acorns for eyes, Leaf Man takes off from a backyard and flutters away on the breeze, meandering past animals, over fields of fall vegetables, above waterways, and across prairie meadows. The text suggests a range of possible destinations, along with the refrain, Well, a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows. Finally, readers are encouraged to listen for a rustle in the leaves and maybe find a Leaf Man of their own to take home. From ducks to pumpkins to fish, all of the objects described are fashioned out of life-size leaves of various shapes, sizes, and hues and set against backgrounds of textured paper. The die-cut pages curve and bend across the top edge, suggesting undulating mountains set against a sky-blue backdrop. The various leaves and seeds are identified on the endpapers. While the story is simple, the artwork is dazzling, and the book's concept will inspire nature walks, art projects, and curiosity about the changing seasons.–Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books (September 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152053042
• ISBN-13: 978-0152053048
• Product Dimensions: 12.3 x 11.3 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (34 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #99,773 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #19 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature > Forests & Trees

More About the Author

LOIS EHLERT has created many picture books, including Leaf Man, Pie in the Sky, In My World, Growing Vegetable Soup, Planting a Rainbow, and the bestselling Waiting for Wings. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars What fun! So much to see! September 29, 2005

By Corinne H. Smith TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

This book is getting good reviews for good reason. Lois Ehlert uses images of actual autumn leaves to tell a simple story. And yet, it's not that simple. In each colorful double-page spread, the leaves are arranged in order to form figures: a man, barnyard animals, farm crops, etc., whatever supports the text. As we advance through the story, we realize something different about the book. The top edges of the pages aren't cut straight; they swoop to become horizon lines that change with each page turn, simulating the colorful rolling hills of autumn. What a wonderful surprise! Who would have thought of that technique? It's perfect for the story. The leaves are close at hand, and yet your eye catches the distant landscape, just as it might in real life.

What I like most about this book is that it is educational in a subtle way. It doesn't scream, "Here are leaf projects for you to try!" It merely tells a story using leaves, and lets the readers become inspired to gather up and create leaf creatures of their own. In other words, teaching and leading by example. On the end-sheet of the front and back covers, sample leaves are each identified by tree name -- again, with subtlety. If you want to know the names of the trees they came from, fine, there they are. If you are too young (or too old!) to care, then the words do not intrude on your view of the leaves or the enjoyment of the book. I can see that reading this book to a group of observant youngsters would take quite a while. There's so much to see, and you might not catch it all the first time through. "Leaf Man" requires multiple readings.

This is a beautiful, educational picture book that will appeal to all ages. It should be mandatory for nature center libraries and elementary school libraries.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars It's Nice but... a review of Lois Ehlert's "Leaf Man" February 3, 2006

By Pam T TOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

Wow, lots of people apparently like this book, but I can only judge by the reactions of my children to the book, and they didn't really like it that much. Certainly not as much as some of Ms. Ehlert's other works like "Snowballs" and "Growing Vegetable Soup".

I think the principal reason they didn't go bonkers over "Leaf Man" is that there really wasn't much of story. Leaf Man (or Leaf Guy as we call him) blew around a lot, but it wasn't as if he had any opinion about the process or that there was any drama.

Three Stars. The artwork was good and, as always, very creative-- the source of much discussion and our own art project-- but when you get down to it, Leaf Man just blew around. Worth checking out at the library.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple text enhanced with a big dose of creativity! July 5, 2007

By Z Hayes HALL OF FAMETOP 50 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

My husband bought this for our two-year old, and we love reading it together with her. The text is simple, as it traces the journey of Leaf Man...the leaves used are magnificent in their colors...some bold, some subdued, but all unique and beautiful. I have since done some basic art projects with my daughter using this book as inspiration. We collect leaves wherever we go and hope to create a little book of our own!