And Then It's Spring (Booklist Editor's Choice. Books for Youth (Awards)) [Hardcover]

Julie Fogliano (Author), Erin Stead (Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: February 14, 2012 | Age Range: 4 - 7 years | Series: Booklist Editor's Choice. Books for Youth (Awards) | Lexile Measure: 600L (What's this?)

Following a snow-filled winter, a young boy and his dog decide that they've had enough of all that brown and resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they play, they wait . . . and wait . . . until at last, the brown becomes a more hopeful shade of brown, a sign that spring may finally be on its way.

 

Julie Fogliano's tender story of anticipation is brought to life by the distinctive illustrations Erin E. Stead, recipient of the 2011 Caldecott Medal.

 

And Then It's Spring is one The Washington Post's Best Kids Books of 2012.

One of Kirkus Reviews' Best Children's Books of 2012

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best Books of the Month for Kids, February 2012: and then it’s spring pays homage to the hopefulness and anticipation that accompanies planting the first seeds of spring in the dark soil of winter--waiting, checking, waiting, wondering if the first green shoots will ever come and imagining all the things that could have gone wrong for those little seeds. Then one day spring is suddenly, gloriously, here--replacing the brown with shades of green happiness. Illustrations by 2011 Caldecott Medalist Erin Stead (A Sick Day for Amos McGee) match the graceful simplicity of the text, capturing the emotion of the characters and expanding the story with whimsical details. --Seira Wilson

From Booklist

*Starred Review* A first-time author and the Caldecott Award–winning illustrator of A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011) team up in this beautiful ode to a patient gardener. After the winter, “you have brown, all around you have brown,” but small hints of spring, like red robins and rain, hold promise. A young boy, joined by his dog companion, plants seeds, each labeled with a picture of carrots or sunflowers or peas. But as much as they wait, hope, and examine the dirt with a magnifying glass, there’s no green to be found. Fogliano’s simple, tender text has a solemn tone, which perfectly reflects the anticipatory state of the boy and his animal friends. The woodblock and pencil illustrations give life to animals so expressive and endearing it hurts, and the layout—a mixture of full-bleed spreads and white-bordered vignettes—paces the story well. A two-spread fantasy in the middle of the story—in which the boy imagines birds pecking at the seeds or bears stomping on them—is smile-inducing, particularly a scene of a befuddled bear with a planter on his head. But what’s most fun to notice throughout are the small, subtle details on each page. It’s not easy to wait . . . and wait . . . but children, like the boy, may realize that patience often yields big rewards. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Fans of A Sick Day for Amos McGee—and award-watchers, in general—will be eagerly anticipating this, Stead’s first children’s book since winning the 2011 Caldecott Medal. Preschool-Grade 2. --Ann Kelley

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 7 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press; First Edition edition (February 14, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1596436247
• ISBN-13: 978-1596436244
• Product Dimensions: 10.7 x 8.8 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,074 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #51 in Books > Children's Books > Science, Nature & How It Works > Nature

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Patience as a virtue February 15, 2012

By Martha Frankel

Format:Hardcover

in a world where even toddlers grab their iPads for instant gratification, what a treat to read a book where patience is the abiding theme. Julie Fogliano's writing hits us in the gut because it is so simple, yet so stirring. and Erin Stead's drawings give off a whiff of hope. An instant classic

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Mudliscious February 14, 2012

By closet athlete

Format:Hardcover

The language is playful and childlike ("please don't step here. there are seeds and they are trying"), in the way that good poetic language often is. The title even reminds me of that ee cummings poem [in Just--] ("...when the world is mud-/ luscious...). The writing in and then it's spring is kind of a hybrid of that and my favorite Karla Kuskin-y, Ruth Krauss-ish goodness. Stead's artwork is warm and charming and the brown is indeed hopeful--full of impending life and a reticulum of animal tunnels with critters just itching to kick themselves free. I'm hoping that this will make all the February brown around me a little more hopeful, too. But, if not, it was at least fun to read.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, just like SICK DAY FOR AMOS MCGEE (same illustrator). February 18, 2012

By E. LeVan

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

She is a great illustrator, wonderful really. This book has 1 sentence on each page with the exception of one page that has a short paragraph. The reading is meant more for an adult to do, as there were a few unusual words that I recall. Really great "asides" in the illustrations. If you like Sick Day for Amos McGee, which is by this same illustrator and her husband as the writer, then you will like this.

Simple. Mostly about the illustrations, to me.

I will use this in my classroom (if I teach K or 1) with extended reading activities.