Review by New York Times Review
Plourde and Gal capture the vitality of fall right along with the season's more melancholy realities. Bella has outgrown her favorite coat. Her Grams wants to sew her a new one, but Bella's too busy playing in piles of leaves and picking apples. Not until the first snow appears, and with it a snow woman who can wear the old coat, will Bella let go. The pages fly by like autumn leaves in the wind: Bella is a whirl of messy, lovely girl-energy, while Grams is a warm, whiz-bang wonder of a grandmother. WONDERFALL Written and illustrated by Michael Hall. 40 pp. Greenwil low/ HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) In spare poems whose titles substitute "fall" for the endings of autumn-appropriate words like "beautiful," "resourceful" and "thankful," Hall ("Frankencrayon") pays punning homage to the season. ("Goodbye, geese," "Wistfall" begins.) His collages, which layer cutouts in bright colors mostly against white backgrounds in a style reminiscent of Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, are reminders of the shapes within shapes that make up all we see. GOODBYE SUMMER, HELLO AUTUMN Written and illustrated by Kenard Pak. 32 pp. Holt. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) A jaunty girl in a red scarf hikes across the pages of this cheerful chronicle of the passage from summer to fall. As she greets flora and fauna, each explain themselves. "We are leaning into the sun, enjoying the last summer rays," the flowers say. "I am setting earlier and earlier now," the sun confides. But it's Pak's ("Flowers Are Calling") resplendent digital art that makes you linger. Each spread is a masterly landscape composition, both impressionistic and crisp, with colors that quietly dazzle. YELLOW TIME Written and illustrated by Lauren Stringer. 32 pp. Beach Lane. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) As colors go, yellow rarely gets to be the star of the show. Stringer ("Winter Is the Warmest Season") is out to change that in this vibrant celebration of the central role it plays in the autumn palette. A radiant cast of children climb, skip, jump and dance through scenes of yellow-colored fall pleasures. "It only comes once a year," these kids know, and they look as if they're having a blast while it's here. The pages are heavy on the yellow, of course, but pops of bright blue, red and purple add balance. APPLESAUCE WEATHER By Helen Frost. Illustrated by Amy June Bates. 103 pp. Candlewick, $14.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Its fall setting makes a throwback tale like this one even more resonant. Frost expertly walks the line between sweet and bittersweet in short poems about the siblings Faith and Peter, who await a visit from Uncle Arthur. He always comes to make applesauce, but this year Aunt Lucy died; maybe he won't. Frost pays tribute to older family members, the lives they lived and the stories they tell, which can still enthrall the youngest generation. Bates's dignified pencil drawings enchant as well.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 8, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
Look outside! Yellow time is on its way. In exuberant, expressive scenes of swirling yellow ash leaves on the wind, Stringer (When Stravinsky Met Nijinsky, 2013) playfully captures the anticipation of autumn. Children await the once-a-year fall event when the ash tree leaves turn a brilliant yellow. Several harbingers usher in yellow time, like geese leaving, squirrels collecting nuts, and crows that fill still-leafy trees with their voices announcing its coming to everyone. And when that moment arrives, when the sky billows gray with clouds . . . WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH! the brilliant yellow ovals swirl in the sky, collect in puddles, and create a symphony of yellow. In paintings rich with movement, echoing the twirling, swooping gusts of color, Stringer depicts a diverse array of children and families enjoying the fall weather, some of whom are making their own yellow paintings of the much loved leaves. Stringer's lyrical text celebrates this fleeting moment in the fall season, and it's beautifully paired with her bold, riotous yellow scenes. A perfect read-aloud for autumn.--Lock, Anita Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Stringer (Deer Dancer) offers up a poetic meditation on the transient wonders of autumn-aka "yellow time"-finding delight in everything from the smells of the season ("Like wet mud and dry grass/ with a sprinkle of sugar") to animals not always considered to be lovely in and of themselves ("Black crows fill bare branches/ and raise their voices/ in praise of yellow time"). Rendered in acrylic and oil, Stringer's paintings burst with bright swaths of sunflower yellow as trees bend and sway in the wind, giving up their leaves in golden swirls and curls as jacketed children revel in the turbulent weather, making crowns from fallen leaves and saving some to press between book pages as mementos of the season. It's a joyful reminder to make the most of fall when it's here. Up to age 8. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Stringer re-creates those last days of autumn when the trees are no longer putting on a fiery show of colors and the leaves are one gusty day away from shuddering to the ground. Short, declarative, yet lyrical sentences set the stage ("The squirrels are too busy to notice, and the geese have already gone."). Stringer continues to remind readers of the sounds ("Crows love yellow time. They fill still-leafy trees with their voices announcing its coming...") and the smells ("wet mud and dry grass with a sprinkle of sugar") of autumn and discusses the changing of the seasons ("Yellow time comes before white time. Every time."). When the wind begins, everyone is ready: the trees, the children, the crows, and even the busy squirrels that use the fallen leaves for their lofty nests. The watercolor and acrylic illustrations, subtly reminiscent of Lois Lenski's work, are full of movement and emotion. Stringer's rendering of the autumn landscape and its diverse inhabitants, round faces lifted to the sky, remind readers of a moment in time. VERDICT This gorgeous picture book is a fine addition to seasonal and classroom collections, but it stands alone for its language and deft artwork. A lovely, evocative read-aloud.-Lisa Lehmuller, Paul Cuffee Maritime Charter School, Providence, RI © Copyright 2016. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Evoking the experience of watching leaves falling en masse from ash trees, this picture book celebrates the yellow time when everywhere fills with yellow. A symphony of yellow. The acrylic and watercolor paintings feature swirls and swoops of yellow leaves against black tree trunks and branches. One by one, children (and a dog) head outdoors and join up with one another, full of anticipation. Wearing sweaters and jackets, this diverse group of children together sniffs the air and watches the trees, waiting for the moment when the wind lifts and -- WHOOSH! -- the leaves begin to fly. The children are joined by others, who all dance and rejoice in the yellow air. There are no surprise twists here, just a gentle appreciation of the joys of using your senses to notice the changes outdoors as the seasons turn. From the books cover to the endpapers, yellow makes each picture glow, and curved lines repeat throughout the story to reinforce the beauty of the natural world. susan dove lempke (c) Copyright 2016. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
