Count Down to Fall (Arbordale Collection) - Hardcover

Fran Hawk

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1934359947 ISBN 13: 9781934359945

Publisher: Arbordale Publishing, 2009

Synopsis

Count backwards from ten to one during one of the most colorful times of year: fall. Learn about the bright, colorful leaves and the trees from which they fall: aspen, birch, maple, oak, chestnut, linden, pine, beech, dogwood, and sweet gum. Watch the animals frolicking in the crisp, autumn air as they get ready for the approaching cold winter. The For Creative Minds educational section includes: Plant parts, Leaves the shape of it all, What good are plants?, and Match the leaves activity.

About this title

About the Author

Fran Hawk's favorite things are children, books, and writing. Writing children's books is her dream come true, because it combines all three. Fran resides in South Carolina, and when the famous Hunley submarine was raised from Charleston harbor, she wrote a children's book about the event. Her next book was called Ten Tips for Raising Readers, in which Fran shares all the best information she had gathered about bringing children and books together. One autumn afternoon, Fran was walking as leaves drifted down all around her. She realized she only knew the names of a few of them, so she got some leaf books from the library and worked on identifying them. Then, she thought it would be interesting to write a children's book that would make it fun to learn the names of leaves. Sherry Neidigh, a graduate of Ringling School of Art and Design, has been freelance illustrating for over twelve years. Sherry's love of animals and nature comes through in her bright, colorful art. In addition to illustrating Count Down to Fall and The Best Nest for Sylvan Dell, Sherry has illustrated several trade and education titles including Who Needs That Nose?, If I Had a Tail, and Black and White. Sherry lives in South Carolina.

Reviews

PreSchool-Grade 2—Bold, full-spread illustrations with inset details feature a variety of trees and woodland animals in this informational picture book. As the facts about trees count down, the images represent the numbers 10 to 1, while corner insets show the tree, spring and fall leaves, a seed, and occasionally the flower of the specific tree pictured, such as birch, dogwood, oak, and maple. Children will be drawn to examine the expressive images of animals and find additional ones along the detailed border featuring close-ups of the tree's bark. This attention to detail makes the book more than a simple counting or seasonal book with both the four-line stanzas and art offering simple facts: "Six linden leaves/in Valentine shapes/reflect golden sun/in autumn's landscape." The counting pattern gets disrupted at three, opting for numerous "three-pointed maple leaves," and birch leaves shown falling "two by two." A spread, "For Creative Minds," includes quizzes and challenges readers to match facts with images, note specifics about leaf shapes, and learn about how plants support animals.—Janet S. Thompson, Chicago Public Library END

Edition details

• Publisher: Arbordale Publishing
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1934359947
• ISBN 13: 9781934359945
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Sherry Neidigh
• Number of pages: 32