Splish, Splash, Spring - Hardcover

Carr, Jan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0823415783 ISBN 13: 9780823415786

Publisher: Holiday House, 2001

Synopsis

Illustrations of puddles, peeping birds, blooming boughs, sunshine, and kites are brought joyously to life in a lyrical and colorful celebration of spring. By the creators of Frozen Noses.

About this title

About the Authors

Jan Carr has written several books for adults and children including "Frozen Noses" & "Splish, Splash, Spring," & "Swine Divine," illustrated by Robert Bender, Dark Day, Light Night, illustrated by James Ransome, and The Nature of the Best, illustrated by G. Brian Karas. In springtime, she especially loves to bring home big, fragrant bunches of lilacs and to smell the earthy scent in the air. She lives with her family in New York City.

Dorothy Donohue earned her masters degree at the Rhode Island School of Design and has been illustrating ever since. Some of her popular books inlcude Believing Sophie by Hazel Hutchins, and Turkey Pox by Laurie Halse Anderson. As a child, her favorite things about spring were chasing bugs, playing outside after dinner, and only a few more days of school. She lives in Boulder, Colorado, with her three dogs.

Reviews

PreS-Three children and a dog brave the wet weather and go outside to enjoy spring. The catchy, rhyming text describes all of their activities, as they dodge raindrops and splash in puddles. The sun comes out, and they take off their raincoats and fold their umbrellas. They discover baby robins begging for food and help the mother dig up worms. They admire crocuses and daffodils, look at spiders and bees, and do cartwheels down a hill. When a thunderstorm threatens, they run for home, picking flowers along the way. On the last page, one of the children presents the bouquet to a mother waiting at the front door. The colorful cut-paper collages are filled with a variety of interesting textures. The artwork shows the youngsters in constant motion and cleverly depicts their varied facial expressions. Engaging details not mentioned in the text, such as frogs eating bugs, the dog spotting a squirrel in a tree, and a broken string on a kite, will hold young listeners' attention. The bouncy language, bright artwork, and nonstop action make this book a good choice for group sharing.-Anne Parker, Milton Public Library, MA

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Ages 3-6. Three playmates and a dog explore all the delights of spring. The raindrops and puddles, baby birds and crocuses, sunshine and wind. They have a perfectly lovely time dashing down a hill, popping up their umbrellas in the rain, mucking in the dirt for earthworms, and getting tangled in kite string. Carr's bouncing rhymes are full of choice adjectives--sloppy and bloomy, swooping and snapping--and there's plenty of visual appeal along with auditory fun. Donohue uses a lush, color-saturated palette for her paper-cut artwork, which is so tactile children will wonder how it's done and want to run their hands across the pages. The blades of grass look pointed, the brick sidewalk is full of bumps, and the kite strings seem real enough to grasp. The appealing pictures are a fine fit for the story premise--children's innocent fascination with the whole world. Shelley Townsend Hudson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Holiday House
• Publication date: 2001
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0823415783
• ISBN 13: 9780823415786
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Donohue Dorothy
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32