On a snow-melting day Seeking signs of spring

PreS-Gr 3--Spring arrives with melting snow, and plants and animals begin to come to life in a series of detailed photographs. Silverman's readable verse covers a wide array of familiar animals in their natural environments. Brisk rhymes and a musical refrain make this a lively nonfiction read-aloud. For example, in a two-page spread, Silverman writes, "On a plink-plonking, marsh-mucking, duck-dabbling day…" The accompanying photos show a raindrop making ripples in a puddle, a snowy marshland in the process of unthawing, and two ducks sitting on top of an unidentified body of water. A section in the back matter covers scientific explanations for each animal or an event mentioned in the text. The glossary is extensive, and the list of further reading features several similar books, all published within the last five years. VERDICT A welcome addition to school libraries. Perfect for answering nature-related questions or crafting lesson plans.--Savannah Kitchens, Parnell Memorial Library, Montevallo, AL

Full-color photography and sparse, rhyming verse offer a look at early spring in a temperate climate.Text, art, and layout are clever, thoughtful, and engaging. One double-page spread gives the beginning of a sentence that will have several different endings over the pages that follow; the sequence is repeated four times. The opening pages start with "On a drip-droppy, / slip-sloppy, / snow-melting day." Each of those three descriptions is accompanied by a clear and beautiful stock photograph; contrasting black or white text over the photographs is large and legible. The pages that follow use rhyming couplets with their own photographs to end that preceding phrase: "Squirrels cuddle. / Snakes huddle. / Clouds break. / Salamanders wake." Plants, animals, and human beings are all included in the signs of spring; children will relate strongly to soaked mittens, boots in puddles, melting snowmen, and swinging on a tire swing. A particularly stunning photograph shows a chickadee, wings whirring, sipping water from a dripping icicle. Explanations of this and all the early spring phenomena depicted are offered at the back of the book, extending the age level from preschool to early primary grades. The overall theme, as well as the creative use of noun-verb combinations to form new adjectives, also lends itself to introducing children to the e.e. cummings poem that begins "in Just-spring." One photograph shows two humans, both presenting as white. Crocus-poking, mud-luscious enjoyment. (glossary, further reading) (Informational picture book. 3-8) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.