Leaf Jumpers Board Book

By: Carole Gerber / Illustrated by: Leslie Evans You know you wanna . . . Go ahead and jump in that big, colorful, inviting pile of leaves. The best part of fall clean-up is the chance to take a running dive into a giant pile of leaves. In a poem as vibrant as Leslie Evans’s autumnal illustrations, Carole Gerber rakes together gold, orange, yellow, red, and brown leaves into a literary pile creating the magic of fall for young readers. The poetic text gives simple facts about different types of fall leaves making for easy leaf identification. Brief back explains how leaves change colors when the weather turns colder. Leaf Jumpers is a great book for combining literature and science. Read an excerpt! If you like this book, you’ll enjoy these: Spring Blossoms [TABS] Look Inside Author & Illustrator Carole Gerber, author Carole Gerber fondly recalls collecting and identifying autumn leaves for a third-grade science project. Her books include Hush: A Gaelic Lullaby, which won a Parent Council Award of Excellence, and Blizzard, named to the CCBC Choices list for 2002. She lives in Columbus, Ohio. Read more about Carole. Leslie Evans, illustrator Leslie Evans has illustrated The Yummy Alphabet Book and The Flower Alphabet Book, as well as a seasonal series including Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic (Clarion) and Winter: An Alphabet Acrostic (Clarion). The illustrations in this book were created in her letterpress studio, Sea Dog Press. She lives in Watertown, Massachusetts. Read more about Leslie. Awards & Honors CCBC Choices ABC Best Books for Children Choose to Read Ohio Booklist Editorial Reviews School Library Journal The crisp excitement that fall brings sparkles on each page of this book. Image-packed poetry and watercolor and linoleum-block prints introduce the various trees as they are observed by a boy and a girl and their dog. Not only are the children shown as active participants in autumn's fun raking and jumping in the fallen foliage, but the leaves themselves "...flutter through the air, drifting downward gracefully." The vividly colored illustrations provide interesting perspectives as readers view the children and their dog at ground level, from high among the tree branches, at eye level with the children, and at shoe level. Even with the simple vocabulary, Gerber's words and images convey all the texture, shape, and color of various types of leaves. The last page has an explanation of why they fall, and this text is surrounded by identified pictures of the leaves discussed in the main body of the book. A great introduction to the season either for group or individual reading. BayViews In large, bold, linoleum-cut illustrations in orange, red, yellow, and brown tones, a girl, boy, and dog are shown playfully interacting with falling autumn leaves, tossing, jumping, and raking them, or just looking at them in various perspectives. Eight different types of leaves and the trunks of two trees are identified in the brief rhyming text, which reinforce the vivid autumn colors. Some of the leaves will be unfamiliar to California children but will be an attractive way of introducing them to autumn and autumn activities. The large illustrations show the leaf shapes clearly, though birch and basswood look alike. The book plunges into autumn colors immediately and only the last page explains color change and probably will require explanation from an older person. The big brown and white dog peering through slender hanging yellow willow leaves is endearing. Booklist Colorful linoleum block prints of autumn leaves flutter across the pages of this attractive picture-book introduction to eight common leaf varieties. Gerber's poetic text describes colors, shapes, and characteristics with an abundance of similes and metaphors. The red maple's leaf is said to be "flame bright and vivid as a match"; the birch leaf is "oval as an egg"; and the ginkgo's yellow leaf is shaped "just like a little fan." Evans' vibrant hand-colored linoleum prints feature scenes of a brother and sister with the family dog enjoying traditional fall activities, such as raking a big pile of leaves and jumping in. They also provide helpful visual aid for youngsters who might want to try some leaf identification of their own. An ending page describes the process by which leaves change from green to their brilliant fall colors, adding to the book's value as a science resource. CCBC Choices The changing color of autumn leaves is certainly one of the most flamboyant hallmarks of the new season. Linoleum-cut illustrations show two children and a dog playing among the falling leaves, as the poetic text describes the characteristics of 8 types of trees. "Red maple's broad and pointed leaves/flame bright and vivid as a match./ The sugar maple's leaves are orange,/ like pumpkins in a pumpkin patch." A concluding page outlines the scientific process behind leaf-color change, but it is the bold illustrations and lyrical words throughout the rest of this picture book that truly celebrate the season. Downloadables Download the Cover Choose to Read Ohio Toolkit Details Board ISBN: 978-1-58089-782-2 Ages:0-3 Page Count:28 7 x 10 Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-57091-497-3 Paperback ISBN: 978-1-57091-498-0 E-book PDF ISBN: 978-1-60734-137-6 Ages: 3-7 Page count: 32 7 x 10 [/TABS]