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

Fogliano, Julie

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1626723036 ISBN 13: 9781626723030

Publisher: Roaring Brook Press, 2012

Synopsis

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

About this title

About the Author

Julie Fogliano has spent her entire life reading children's books. Now she stays up way too late writing her own books while eating cereal. She lives in the Hudson Valley with her husband and their two boys. They make her very tired, but give her lots of good ideas. This is her first book.

 

Erin E. Stead first met Julie Fogliano while working together in a New York City bookstore. Today she lives in a 100-year-old barn in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with her husband, Philip, who is an author and illustrator, and with whom she co-created A Sick Day For Amos McGee, winner of the 2011 Caldecott Medal, for Roaring Brook Press. Erin creates her illustrations using woodblock printing techniques and pencil. blog.erinstead.com

Reviews

*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

Edition details

• Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
• Publication date: 2012
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1626723036
• ISBN 13: 9781626723030
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Stead Erin
• Number of pages: 32