A Year of Beasts - Hardcover

Wolff, Ashley

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525442405 ISBN 13: 9780525442400

Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers, 1986

Synopsis

Ellie and Peter see many different field and forest animals around their country house throughout the year

About this title

From School Library Journal

PreS Again focusing on the family from the author's earlier A Year of Birds (Dodd, 1984), the linoleum block prints with clear black lines and bright but translucent washes record the changing seasons of a New England landscape and its nonhuman as well as human inhabitants. January's white-tailed deer give way to February's foxes, a March woodchuck, and so on through a year's worth of rabbits, otters, skunks, cows, raccoons and other assorted fauna. Simultaneously, the activities of a human family are chronicled: snowman-building in January, sap-gathering in March, Easter egg hunting in April, picnics in July and so on untilof courseChristmas tree cutting in December. While no parallels between human and animal activities are drawn, children will readily identify the detailsboth interior and exteriorwhich comprise these quiet scenesand find scope for their imaginations to expand each picture into a small but familiar story. A well-crafted, child-centered, visually pleasing lap book that would also work well in a story hour program for two year olds.Kristi Thomas Beavin, Arlington County Public Library, Va.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

As with A Year of Birds, Wolff uses block prints to link the cycle of nature to the cycle of Ellie's family. In the artist's last work, Ellie's baby brother was born; in the new book, Ellie and Peter share the discovery of the many animals around their house. Each month brings a different animal, different weather and a new activity for Ellie and Peterdeer and snowmen in January, chipmunks and picnics in July. Although the moods of each month are not as breathtaking here as in the first book, they are simpler, more direct. The pictures are bolder, the animals easier to see and identify. While perhaps not as visually stunning as A Year of Birds, this is more likely to be enjoyed by its intended audience.
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 1986
• ISBN 10: 0525442405
• ISBN 13: 9780525442400
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32