Once Around the Sun [Hardcover]

Bobbi Katz (Author), LeUyen Pham (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: 1 and up

Children don't need a calendar to tell them which season it is. Every month has its own distinct clues, like in September "when yellow pencils / in brand-new eraser hats / bravely wait on perfect points." In a dozen unforgettable poems, this fresh yet nostalgic collection captures the excitement of each season, spinning us once around the sun--twelve months, four seasons, one amazing year.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 3 This collection of feel-good poems is brimming with a child's appreciation for each month of the year. Each selection is accompanied by paintings that span a spread and, on occasion, an additional illustration covers the following two pages. The central setting appears to be a city, but there's plenty of green space for sledding and other outdoor activities. The large, color illustrations are perfect for engaging youngsters in discussion about the pictured month and its attendant activities. Somewhat stylized, they are at times reminiscent of the work of Ezra Jack Keats. The art and the poems work well together: children slide down a hill of snow in January while the words of the poem cascade at a slant. The selections are just as fully descriptive as the pictures and contain visual and aural imagery as well as emotional intensity. For example, April is/when…Grandma/tells you how each spring/she falls in love with the world/all over again /and you understand. This is a strong read-aloud. Older children can be encouraged to write their own poems in celebration of their favorite month. Teresa Pfeifer, Alfred Zanetti Montessori Magnet School, Springfield, MA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 2. In joyful poems, one for each month of the year, a young boy has fun during the changing seasons in his city neighborhood. There's noisy action (sledding with his friends in the park in January) as well as quiet moments (carving initials on the "frost-feathered windowpane" in February). In March the boy's palms dream "about closing around a wooden bat"; in September there are "yellow pencils / in brand-new eraser hats." October is Halloween, and November brings Thanksgiving foods. Pham's paintings of an African American boy and his younger sister are brightly colored and full of energy, and the simple words in short lines will be great for reading aloud. Children will want to create words and pictures about their own seasonal celebrations in the classroom and at home. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Harcourt Children's Books; 1 edition (April 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0152163972
• ISBN-13: 978-0152163976
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,363,412 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Great book for elementary school kids, October 3, 2011

By 

jlk - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Once Around the Sun (Hardcover)

I got this for my toddler and realized it's suited for an elementary school child. Regardless of his age, he enjoys the beautiful illustrations and likes to discuss what he notices on each page. Love that the book is multi-cultural too.

5.0 out of 5 stars A Good Classroom Collection, July 29, 2009

By 

Emily Kissner (Biglerville, PA United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Once Around the Sun (Hardcover)

This book includes a poem for each month of the year. The illustrations are colorful and appealing, and well-connected to the mood and topics of each poem.

This is an excellent choice for the classroom library. When I choose poems to share with my students, I'm looking for poems that they can understand, but that have a deeper layer of meaning. (I get so tired of the literal, sing-song rhyming poems that fill up so many books!) The poems in this book are wonderful for this purpose. In September's poem, pencils "in brand-new eraser hats/bravely wait on perfect points--/ready to march across miles of lines/in empty notebooks". Lots to talk about in those few lines, with the personification of the pencils, the imagery of eraser hats, the idea of the miles of notebook lines.

Every poem has some good instructional points. Most importantly, though, they are fun to read. Share this book at your own risk--it might not be returned to you!