Greetings, favorite folks!
Before we get to our Perfect Picture Book today, I’d like to take a quick second to announce the winner of a signed copy of Sylvia Liu’s Perfect Picture Book from last week – A Morning With Grandpa! Many thanks to all of you who visited and commented, sharing your favorite exercise and/or way to relax. Your names were all randomly randomized in the randomizer, and the winner is:
(drum roll please…!!!)
LESLIE GOODMAN!!!
Congratulations, Leslie! Please email me (susanna[at]susannahill[dot]com) so I can organize with Sylvia to get your book to you!
Now then. I confess life got the better of me this week, so I’m sharing a book today that I’ve shared before… but it’s very appropriate for spring and May and the emerald green all around 🙂
Title: 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.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see your inspiring picks for this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!!
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Perfect choice for a soggy Friday, Susanna! I think that the only way we’ll want to experience leaves around here today is in books;)
This book sings so sweetly, doesn’t it? As do the others in this series. Laura has a beautiful way with language.
Oh my gosh! I won a copy of A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu! I don’t mind admitting that I scrolled up and down and back up a few times to make sure I read that right. I’m so excited to receive this book! Thank you, Susanna and Sylvia!
Also, I’m looking forward to checking out a copy of A Leaf Can Be. I am enchanted by the lyrical language choices of the opening page. Imagine a whole book so lovingly written! Well…I’m off to the library now.
Sunny Friday in CO with trees budding out, so many in chartreuse! Nice pick for a spring day, Susanna. And congrats to Leslie!
Laura Purdie Salas sure knows what she is doing! Thanks for the review, Susanna…this is a wonderful choice…especially for Spring that has finally (crossing my fingers and holding my breath) sprung. 😉
Beautiful book. Love the rhyming, and just right for your spring weather.
Thanks for sharing “A Leaf Can Be…”
Looks and sounds enchanting, definitely would like to look at this one. I like the open ended quality to the title too!
What a beautiful book! I haven’t read it and will remedy that soon! It does look enchanting.
Thanks, Susanna, for sharing LEAF again :>) And for the kind comments, people left (even though I realize nobody will see this now!).
You’re very welcome, Laura! It’s a wonderful book and I love it! 🙂 And you never know who will wander by and see your comments 🙂
I love “A Leaf Can Be” – great post.