Explore the beauty of spring in this new edition of What to Look For in Spring.
The natural world wakes from the long winter's sleep. Buds, blossoms and butterflies appear, marking the arrival of the season of rebirth. This book takes a closer look at bleating lambs, boxing hares, meteor showers and May Day celebrations as the secrets of the spring begin to appear in the world around us.
Follow the changing seasons with the other titles in the What to Look For... series: What to Look For in Summer What to Look For in Autumn What to Look For in Winter
Elizabeth Jenner grew up on the Wirral, and studied for a BA in English and Creative Writing at the University of Warwick. She now lives in London, where she teaches yoga and both writes and commissions fiction and non-fiction titles.
Another excellent book, the step up from the preschool seasons books (we have quite the collection). I have read some negative reviews saying that these books "read like textbooks" - perhaps, but well-written and informative textbooks, with delactable morsels of cultural and scientific goodies. Personally, I think more people should know about the elliptical orbit of the earth and what causes ground fog. These are books for bright children with lots of questions - I say give them all the information they can take in. Like vital nutrients found in fruits and veggies (and not cupcakes), you don't want to deprive them of facets of knowledge just because the writing isn't lyrical or poetic (I actually think it's rather pleasant to read, myself!). It's important to promote variety in both dietary intake and literary consumption. I honestly feel that we as a society need to be sure we are raising children with a conceptual knowledge of the natural world on which we are all dependent (whether it is still readily apparent or not). One of the suspected causes of depression among youngsters today is a lack of 'connection' to their worlds. Teaching your children to look for the minute signs of a changing season and its significance would help to ground your child both in nature and within the rhythm of the child's own life.
I was blown away by the bright, saturated colors and vintage style illustrations. But, aside from that (and the cute size), I found the text to be clunky and unsatisfying to read. Usually, books like this are fun and have small tidbits of exciting information.
Although this book had information about the season, it just really bored me. I think this book (and all the rest in the series) would have a hard time keeping the attention of a child trying to learn. Disappointing in content, but highly recommended for the artwork.