Changes

Describes, in rhymed text and illustrations, how things in nature change as they grow and develop

PreSchool-K-- A photographic essay on changes in nature--growth, seasons, weather. A daffodil bud becomes an open flower in four full-color photos; pine cones grow into tall pines in two; winter gray turns into spring green in two pictures of the same forest swamp. In other examples, eggs become tiny birds and then a migrating flock; a baby grows into a toddler and then a preschooler. The photos are well selected and artfully juxtaposed to demonstrate the breadth of the concept, and the minimal narrative poetically captions the photos to help clarify it. The pictures work well together and with the text to make a book that children, teachers, and parents will appreciate.
- Dorcas Hand, Annunciation Orthodox School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This impressive concept book surveys changes in nature through lively photographs. With a simple, knowing style, Allen ( One, Two, Three -- Ah-Choo! ; Farley, Are You for Real? ) and Rotner study the growth and transformations of plants and animals. Piglets mature into large sows; fiddleheads uncurl into graceful ferns. "All things go through changes," the author explains succinctly. In her first picture book, Rotner's photographs accompany the easily understood text: "Spring blossoms yield summer fruit; in autumn, corn grows high." Juxtaposed photos of a speckled fawn and a grey-horned buck depict an animal's growth with the passage of time; pictures of a boy as he grows from infancy to preschool age show similar alterations. Readers will gain an important understanding of the many different faces of each living thing through this timely, engaging book. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.

``All things go through changes as they grow,'' concludes this simple book using attractive color photos to compare fiddleheads to ferns, a blue sky to a cloudy one, the same trees in four seasons, eggs to birds, and finally a pregnant woman to a growing child. Adequate to develop the concept with young children, but weakened by carelessness in the text: milkweed blooms in June or July, not spring, and corn has usually finished growing before autumn. (Nonfiction/Picture book. 3-7) -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.