It's Spring!

“From the Celebrate the Seasons series, which includes It’s Fall (2001), this brightly illustrated picture book offers sensory impressions and childlike experiences representative of spring. Writing in first person from a boy’s point of view, Glaser proves an astute observer of what spring looks and feels like to a child: pussy willows soft against the cheek, birds that ‘cheep and warble and trill,’ and the sunsets after dinner. Swan’s eye-catching artwork underlines the three-dimensional quality of collage. Rather than trying to mask the joint marks where one piece of painted-and-cut paper meets another, the illustrator uses light and shadow to highlight the overlapping papers and create a greater sense of depth. A list of nature activities adds to the usefulness of this pleasant book.”

—Booklist

“Glaser and Swan team up once again in this eye-catching and informative ode to nature, the second in a series of seasonal titles (It’s Fall!, 2001, etc.). Speaking through the voice of a narrator, Glaser uses simple language to convey the changes brought by spring: warmer weather, budding plants, and awakening animals. . . In cut-paper collage created from hand-painted papers, Swan’s gorgeous depiction of water rushing down a mountainside comes alive with swirling marbled paper and a slate-blue sky flecked with white. In the foreground, sculptured, sun-colored daffodils shoot up around the rocks. Later, Swan’s palette turns deep blue and mossy green as a troupe of wide-eyed ‘spring peepers and bullfrogs sing’ amidst the rushes. The narrator and his dog, who’s howling at the moon, appear as small silhouettes below the star-dappled sky. In the end, Glaser suggests a series of ‘Nature Activities to Do in the Spring.’ A natural choice for springtime reading.”

—Kirkus Review

“A companion to the author’s It’s Fall (Millbrook, 2001). The excitement of spring is in the air as a boy explores the world around him. Cut-paper illustrations enhanced by hand painting give a three-dimensional look to the scenes. A double-page spread of a torrential river made up of marbled paper and paint splatters is especially evocative of the season. . . ©hildren will enjoy this spring scavenger hunt as they browse the richly detailed illustrations. The book closes with a list of nature activities.”

—School Library Journal