Review by New York Times Review
Plourde and Gal capture the vitality of fall right along with the season's more melancholy realities. Bella has outgrown her favorite coat. Her Grams wants to sew her a new one, but Bella's too busy playing in piles of leaves and picking apples. Not until the first snow appears, and with it a snow woman who can wear the old coat, will Bella let go. The pages fly by like autumn leaves in the wind: Bella is a whirl of messy, lovely girl-energy, while Grams is a warm, whiz-bang wonder of a grandmother. WONDERFALL Written and illustrated by Michael Hall. 40 pp. Greenwil low/ HarperCollins. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) In spare poems whose titles substitute "fall" for the endings of autumn-appropriate words like "beautiful," "resourceful" and "thankful," Hall ("Frankencrayon") pays punning homage to the season. ("Goodbye, geese," "Wistfall" begins.) His collages, which layer cutouts in bright colors mostly against white backgrounds in a style reminiscent of Eric Carle and Lois Ehlert, are reminders of the shapes within shapes that make up all we see. GOODBYE SUMMER, HELLO AUTUMN Written and illustrated by Kenard Pak. 32 pp. Holt. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) A jaunty girl in a red scarf hikes across the pages of this cheerful chronicle of the passage from summer to fall. As she greets flora and fauna, each explain themselves. "We are leaning into the sun, enjoying the last summer rays," the flowers say. "I am setting earlier and earlier now," the sun confides. But it's Pak's ("Flowers Are Calling") resplendent digital art that makes you linger. Each spread is a masterly landscape composition, both impressionistic and crisp, with colors that quietly dazzle. YELLOW TIME Written and illustrated by Lauren Stringer. 32 pp. Beach Lane. $17.99. (Picture book; ages 3 to 7) As colors go, yellow rarely gets to be the star of the show. Stringer ("Winter Is the Warmest Season") is out to change that in this vibrant celebration of the central role it plays in the autumn palette. A radiant cast of children climb, skip, jump and dance through scenes of yellow-colored fall pleasures. "It only comes once a year," these kids know, and they look as if they're having a blast while it's here. The pages are heavy on the yellow, of course, but pops of bright blue, red and purple add balance. APPLESAUCE WEATHER By Helen Frost. Illustrated by Amy June Bates. 103 pp. Candlewick, $14.99. (Middle grade; ages 8 to 12) Its fall setting makes a throwback tale like this one even more resonant. Frost expertly walks the line between sweet and bittersweet in short poems about the siblings Faith and Peter, who await a visit from Uncle Arthur. He always comes to make applesauce, but this year Aunt Lucy died; maybe he won't. Frost pays tribute to older family members, the lives they lived and the stories they tell, which can still enthrall the youngest generation. Bates's dignified pencil drawings enchant as well.
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [October 8, 2016]
Review by Booklist Review
Bella's favorite coat, the one Grams made for her, is getting too tight, but that doesn't stop this lively girl from enjoying fall outdoors. Every time her grandmother mentions the coat, Bella zooms outside, where she dives into piles of leaves, climbs trees to pick apples, and flaps her arms like the nearby geese. Meanwhile, Grams smiles, presses leaves, makes apple tarts, and, late that night, stitches up a new coat. Putting it on immediately, Bella loves it and runs outdoors, where she puts her old coat on a new snowgirl, saying, It's her favorite! Plourde's text reads aloud well with nicely balanced segments of the story and a telling that uses both realistic dialogue and narrative sections with paired words such as She sneaked and snooped. She honked and whistled. She flapped and flew. As vibrant and energetic as Bella herself, the dynamic digital illustrations make good use of patterns, textures, and deep, rich colors. A fine picture book for autumn story hours.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2016 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
A girl named Bella, "not as little as she used to be," revels in an autumn day-and in the patchwork coat her grandmother made for her, a coat that's on its last legs. Grams repeatedly suggests that the coat is ready for retirement, but Bella isn't having it, repeatedly dashing outdoors to romp through the leaves, pick apples from trees, and dash alongside migrating geese ("She sneaked and snooped. She honked and whistled. She flapped and flew"). The mutual adoration between Bella and Grams is abundantly evident in the tender exchanges Plourde (Merry Moosey Christmas) puts together, as well as in Gal's (Here Is the World) gauzy, multilayered images, which capture both Bella's near-inexhaustible energy and that of a woodland landscape in flux. Ages 3-5. Illustrator's agency: Morgan Gaynin. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Bella, who wants to keep her too small coat, learns that "nothing lasts forever." Grams wants to discuss replacing her granddaughter's outerwear, but instead, Bella, wearing the coat she loves, "woosh[es]" outdoors to enjoy her favorite season-fall. She romps in the crackling leaves and even brings some indoors when she returns for lunch. That afternoon Bella plucks ripe apples and after supper zooms outside again to flap her arms in imitation of migrating geese. But her too tight coat begins to unravel, and she can no longer avoid talk of replacing it. While the child sleeps, Grams makes her a new one, which Bella happily dons next morning to experience the first day of winter. She even finds a surprise use for her old coat. The mixed-media illustrations feature double-page outdoor scenes drenched in autumn colors of orange, red, and gold. As day fades to night, swaths of purple sweep across the landscape, and, finally, Bella is tucked into bed with remnants of her autumn adventures reflected against blue-black walls and across her pillow. Alert readers will notice Gram's autumn-colored attire and dishes and furniture that match Bella's vibrant outfit. Plourde manages, quite brilliantly, to convey the characteristics of the autumn season simply through the protagonist's enthusiastic exploits. Metaphors for change abound: apples become tarts, geese leave, autumn becomes winter, and a little girl grows bigger. VERDICT Delicious verb pairs such as "twirled and whirled," "crinkled and crackled," and "picked and plucked" and outstanding illustrations make this offering a treat for eye and ear. A first choice for fall units.-Marianne Saccardi, Children's Literature Consultant, Greenwich, CT © Copyright 2016. 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.
