Review by Booklist Review
A multicultural classroom of preschool children experience each of the four seasons in this appealing picture book. Readers follow two children who become friends during a loud spring thunderstorm she is thrilled with the turmoil, while he is frightened. Along with their classmates, the youngsters actively use their five senses to understand and appreciate the opportunities for entertainment distinct to each season. Their adventures include experiencing the storm and puddles in spring, blowing dandelion fluff and searching for insects in summer, eating crisp apples and gathering leaves in fall, and throwing snowballs, making snow angels, and listening to the hush of winter. The rhyming text consists of 16 words, mainly onomatopoeic: BOOM BOOM Flash! Flash! drip drip Splash! Splash! This also works as a beginning reader, while the bold, clear illustrations make it appealing for even very young children learning about their world. Chodos-Irvine's use of textured wallpaper, plastic lace, stencils, vinyl fabric, other nontraditional materials, and various printmaking techniques creates intriguing illustrations that are enjoyable to study. An engaging exploration of the seasons.--Owen, Maryann Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
What from the title and cover appears to be a celebration of the noisy excitement of a thunderstorm turns out to have a broader aim as readers follow a classroom of preschoolers through four seasons' worth of explorations. First-time author Naberhaus contributes ultra-spare verse that dwells on the sounds and sights around the children: "BOOM BOOM/ Flash! Flash!/ drip drip/ Splash! Splash!" Chodos-Irvine-who knows her way around illustrating a storm after 2012's Dinosaur Thunder-shows the children startled by initial roar of the storm (while most gather around a window to watch lightning strike, one boy crouches in the foreground, his hands pressed firmly over his ears). But soon that boy and all the rest are outdoors splashing in puddles, and as time passes, they are seen examining newly bloomed flowers, blowing dandelion fluff, and enjoying the "crunch crunch" of autumn-a sound that can represent both the raking of leaves and the chomping of apples, as Chodos-Irvine's graphic, mixed-media prints reveal. Understated yet evocative. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-This large, brightly colored picture book with very few words revolves around a class of preschoolers experiencing the four seasons. The thunderstorms of spring give way to the sun and flowers of summer, then to the fall leaves and winter snowflakes. Pictures have been created from various nontraditional materials, including textured wallpaper, stencils, plastic lace, and vinyl fabric, set against mainly white backgrounds. They show the children exploring the outside world as the weather changes. Text is minimal, limited to the sound of the outside world: "drip drip," "crinkle crinkle," "swirl swirl." Tying everything together is the underlying growing friendship between two of the children-a shy boy and an outgoing girl-depicted wordlessly through the illustrations. A solid choice for the very young.-Judith Constantinides, formerly at East Baton Rouge Parish Main Library, LA (c) Copyright 2012. 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
A thunderstorm's "BOOM BOOM" instigates a riot of onomatopoeia knit into narrative. The story opens in an ethnically diverse classroom of children, one of whom (a little boy) is scared by the storm. A classmate notices that he is frightened and reassuringly takes his hand when the class goes outside to explore the world after the storm. Authentically childlike emotion and characterization is portrayed through the mixed-media art, since the text is limited to one or two words per image; "BOOM BOOM" is followed by "Flash! Flash!" -- and then the storm clears and the "drip drip" of the last raindrops gives way to the "splash! splash!" of exuberant puddle-jumping. Subsequent pages continue the rhyming pattern as seasons progress ("crunch crunch" of both the leaves underfoot and apples in the fall). One effective spread reads simply, "silent," and shows the two new friends in a blank, snowy landscape. This fearless use of white space underscores the pictures' graphic power and Chodos-Irvine's command of pattern and color. Hear! hear! to this playful romp of a book. megan dowd lambert(c) Copyright 2014. 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
This exploration of seasons featuring a multicultural group of preschoolers is sure to please its target audience. Using a combination of printmaking techniques and nontraditional art supplies (plastic lace, vinyl fabric, erasers and more), Chodos-Irvine leads viewers through the textures of a changing landscape and the actions that accompany the seasonal phenomena. From puddle-jumping through a spring storm and finding insects among summer blossoms to jumping in leaf piles and catching snowflakes, these youngsters are engaged with their environment. Naberhaus employs two or four words per double-page spread in her sound poem: "BOOM BOOM // Flash! Flash! // drip drip // Splash! / splash!" Some words appear to be included because they rhyme, not because they are actually appropriately onomatopoeic, a choice that weakens the text somewhat; no one says or really hears "fuzz fuzz" when blowing a dandelion, but nevertheless it follows "buzz buzz." Similarly, is "silent // silent" really necessary in the quiet snow scene? Those points aside, very young children will benefit from the repetition and enjoy the range of perspectives and emotions provided by the artist who created Ella Sarah Gets Dressed (2003). Familiar seasonal fun for the young. (Picture book. 2-4) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
