Sniff sniff sniff tiny stifled sob.
I know. It’s very sad that this is the last Perfect Picture Book Friday until September 7. I’m going to miss it, too, but I think we will all find the break refreshing (and hopefully it will give me time to catch up and improve!)
And to make you feel a little better, I made this delicious summer strawberry shortcake just for you
(and yes you can have as many slices as you like!) In addition, I’m sharing a lovely summery book (well, it can be any season, really, but it looks so green and summery that I’m sticking with summery :))
A Leaf Can Be
Written By: Laura Purdie Salas
Illustrated By: Violetta Dabija
Millbrook Press, February 2012, Fiction based on fact
Suitable For: ages 3-8
Themes/Topics: nature, seasons, poetry
Opening: “A leaf is a leaf
It bursts out each spring
when sunny days linger
and orioles sing.
A leaf can be a…
soft cradle
water ladle
Sun taker
Food maker…”
Brief Synopsis: a simple rhyming story that shows all the many things a leaf can be.
Links To Resources: the back of the book has lots of facts about leaves, showing how they can be all the things mentioned in the book. There is also a small glossary. Take a walk and see how many different kinds of leaves you can find. What could your leaves be used for? Leaf Activities. What else can you look at in different ways?
Why I Like This Book: The quietness of this book encourages children to really think about all the different things leaves can be and in turn encourages children to stretch their imaginations about how other everyday objects might be used in different ways. The poetry is gentle with pretty images. The information in the back adds a lot to the learning potential of the book. And the art in this book is absolutely luminous. It just glows. It is the perfect art for the text making for an altogether magical reading experience.
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
For the next 2 Fridays before Summer Short & Sweets begins, we will be having a miniseries (and when I say mini I mean mini because 2 is about as mini as you can go and still call it a series :)) on self-publishing. Self-pubishing is becoming a more viable and more attractive option, so I thought you might find it interesting to hear from a couple folks who have chosen it. I find what they have to say very enlightening and I hope you will too!
Now, I know you’re probably going to fall off your chairs, and I’m probably forgetting something and I’ll have to amend this hastily, but I don’t have anything else to add today. Just goes to show that sometimes even the long-winded can be… well… short-winded, I guess 🙂
PPB bloggers, please add your post-specific links below, and I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend. Happy Father’s Day to the dads in our group! And tune in Monday for a special treat – a guest post from the one and only Joanna Marple all about the process of working with uTales!!!
Susanna Leonard Hill 
I need a cook… and a housekeeper… and a chauffeur… oh wait – those are all me 🙂
LOVE that!!! Thanks for sharing 🙂
How well I know that flat-out-of-time feel, Penny! I feel like a hamster on a wheel these days 🙂 No worries about us – have a great trip! And we'll see you when you get back 🙂
I'm so glad you've enjoyed it! I've loved reading your reviews – we have a lot of the same favorites 🙂 I won't actually be taking a break – just from PPBF in the public eye – I have to work on it behind the scenes because I've fallen behind with the updating and the system needs to be streamlined – it's totally buts right now! I always think I'm going to be organized and write things ahead and then somehow I never seem to 🙂 Hope you'll visit and try out Summer Short & Sweets – I'm hoping it will be tons of fun!
I'm so glad you came to join us! 🙂 And I hope you'll keep visiting even though PPBF is on a break – there's always plenty of fun around here 🙂
Thank YOU so much for joining us! Glad you like the cake 🙂 Strawberries are in season around here too – I like them on pretty much anything, but especially shortcake 🙂 Hope to see you around this summer even without PPBF! 🙂
It's very lovely!
Any chance you “need” to check out Stony Brook Southampton in your college tours?
Those opening lines are so delicate and some lovely BIG words. You always pick books I know I will love, Susanna.
I am like Amy, during my blogging break over the summer I would like to try and stockpile some reviews!
Very much looking forward to the mini series!
College tours ARE fun!
I always have SO MANY things I want to do and not enough time! I want to plan some PPBF posts ahead over the summer, but when I look at everything on the to-do list I'm thinking it will be lucky if I get all the must-dos done, never mind the want-to-dos! 🙂 To bad we're not looking at any colleges in France! 🙂
Alas, it is not on our extensive list! 🙂 but I don't live that far from there, I don't think. Maybe I should map quest it and see where it is!
Beth Stilborn (unregistered) wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
Any chance you “need” to check out Stony Brook Southampton in your college tours?
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OMG that cake looks good!!!!!
and I bet your the best! 😀
It is! And it is calling to you… Saba…. come get a bite of this luscious cake… here's a piece just for you 🙂
You're too kind 🙂 and there are those in my household who would disagree, especially about the housekeeping. You should see the dust puppies under our couch 🙂 (BTW, for the uninitiated, a dust puppy is like a dust bunny only made out of shed dog hair :))
Saba (unregistered) wrote, in response to Susanna Leonard Hill:
and I bet your the best! 😀
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What makes me really want to read this book are the adjectives you used to describe it: quiet, gentle, pretty, luminous. It sounds irresistible! =)
I'm so glad someone besides me loves books that are described that way! 🙂
A magical reading experience, that's what I'm looking for this summer. Like everyone else, I loved your description of the book. Such a great invitation to read, A Leaf Can Be…! Thank you.
It's a lovely book. I hope you'll like it 🙂