Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Like Plourde (Snow Day, reviewed above) and Couch's two previous collaborations (Wild Child and Winter Waits), this lushly illustrated book heralds a change in the seasons, but also demonstrates the universal experience of sibling rivalry. When Mother Earth wakens her daughters, March, April and May, they all vie for their mother's attention each asking if they dressed the fastest. Mother Earth replies judiciously, "You are the fastest March I ever did see./ And the fastest April I ever did see./ And the fastest May I ever did see." Similarly, when each girl sings a spring song, Mother Earth shushes their bickering by telling them, "The truth / I love you ALL the best." The girls delight in their mother's politic answer as they wake up the world and shout for summer to come. Each of their songs reflects the characteristics of that month (March, for instance "howls and growls/ like a monsoon,/ then whiffs and puffs/ a quieter tune"). Couch fills his evocative acrylic-and-pencil illustrations with a haze of lavender shadows, infused with soft yellow sunlight and spring green. In one particularly exquisite painting, Mother Earth takes the form of a graceful tree wearing pink blossoms in her hair, reaching out her branch-like fingers to awaken the sleeping children. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-"Spring's Sprung! A new day's begun." As with Wild Child (1999) and Winter Waits (2001, both S & S), Plourde and Couch evoke a whimsical impression of the season. Using washes of liquid acrylic paint with details done in colored pencils, the illustrations glow with an ethereal light that beautifully matches the mood of the text. In this story, Mother Earth rouses her daughters, March, April, and May, so they can awaken the world and welcome the season. However, "The sisters squabble like siblings do. `Mother loves me more than she loves you.'" Each wants to be favorite, to be the fastest, to sing the best. Thankfully, their parent is gentle and wise. "A mother's heart is big enough to grow and grow, and stretch and stretch. The truth-I love you ALL the best." After the playful months wake the world with their song, the book ends with a hint of what is to come: "-time to wake one more girl. So, March, April, and May simply say, `Summer, oh, Summer, come out and play.'" Although the rhyming text is occasionally forced, the concept is laudable, and readers who have enjoyed the previous titles will want to check out this one as well.-Piper L. Nyman, Fairfield/Suisun Community Library, Fairfield, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Soft illustrations in a somewhat impressionistic style aptly illustrate this story of Mother EarthÆs awaking her three daughters March, April, and May to bring their season to life. In occasionally forced rhymes, the sisters squabble competitively, then realize that their mother loves them ALL the best, after which SpringÆs Sprung! A new dayÆs begun. From HORN BOOK Fall 2002, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The spring season gets a treatment of its own, following autumn (Wild Child, 1999) and winter (Winter Waits, 2001) from the same author/illustrator team. As before, the verse and illustrations personify the seasonal players. In this case, Mother Earth wakes her daughters, the spring sisters of March, April, and May, saying, "You must wake the world / to start a new day." At the end, they must wake one more: summer. But before they awaken anyone, the three girls bicker and vie for first place in Mother Earth's affections. After she affirms "I love you ALL the best," the daughters are ready to wake the earth and "Spring's Sprung! / A new day's begun." The insouciant mixing of months, seasons, and days may not bother preschoolers, but adults may notice. Nonetheless, the tone is lighthearted and fresh, appropriate to its season. Illustrations, as in the previous books, are liquid acrylic and colored pencil on museum board. Mother Earth's form emerges from the earth's topography while the daughters are portrayed as free-standing girls with many visual allusions to their physical ties to the earth, such as hair that flows into a river or curls into mounds of bushes. The colors are pastel, and there is much that is a fresh, new green. Touches of flowers and familiar mother-and-baby animals (such as bunnies and ducks) dot the backgrounds. There is a distinct New Age flavor to both story and illustrations. The large, vertical format is equally suitable for storytime or individual readings. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
