Full of Fall

Starred review from July 17, 2017
In a companion to Best in Snow and Raindrops Roll, Sayre offers a luminous look at autumn leaves, pairing spare verse with crisp photography: “Hello, yellow./ Greetings, gold./ Oh—it’s orange!/ Red, be bold.” Sayre’s full-bleed photographs include images of trees laden with vivid leaves, rippling water that transforms unseen leaves above into an abstract display, and the “Margins. Midribs./ Sunlit veins” of a single leaf shown in close-up. Later in the fall, “Trees are ready./ Twigs let go./ Leaves slip and spin./ Wind sweeps— leaves blow!” The final stage of decomposition welcomes winter’s approach. Sayre’s visual tribute to fall foliage gently implores readers to notice the quiet beauty unfolding all around them. A closing spread provides detailed insight into the science behind trees’ exquisite autumnal show. Ages 3–8. Agent: Emily Mitchell, Wernick & Pratt.

June 15, 2017
Leaves of orange, gold, and red shout from amid the last of summer's fading green canvas. Shy at first, then with a bold advance, the ripple of flaming colors races through the forest like a metachronal wave until the miserly hoarders of chlorophyll are too embarrassed to do much more than sulk. A carpet of leaves; a canopy of leaves--a crescendo of leaves. Sayre's stunning photographic images sweep across each majestic double-page spread. The rhyming text meanders from one-word identifiers--"Midribs"--to ecstatic exclamations: "So many leaves!" However, the irregular meter occasionally sputters. "Fall is ending. // Goodbye, leaf show. / Winter is coming.... // Oh, / hello, snow!" Also, whereas critters and weather figured prominently in Sayre's previous offerings, here they are very minor players and are sorely missed. There are cameo appearances by wind and sun and only four shots of fauna--two squirrels, a mallard, and a flight of geese. This absence, especially as this is the season when forest animals and insects are frenetically preparing for the cold, contributes to a sterility of tone despite the wonder of fall's audacious palette. In addition, the decision to introduce the next season is disappointing. Spring kept its nose out of Best in Snow (2016), and instead of stealing fall's thunder, winter should have done the same. Fortunately, nature's glorious riot overpowers these missteps. Young readers' imaginations are sure to be fired by Sayre's awe-inspiring photos and by the bite-sized science facts provided at the end of the book. (Informational picture book. 3-8)

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June 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 2-The pages in this beautiful tribute to autumn virtually throb with color at every turn. A seasonal companion to Raindrops Roll and Best in Snow, this title highlights the glorious show that is performed each year by trees around the world. Simple, elegant poetry leads readers through the progression of changing leaves as the landscape prepares for winter. "Trees are ready. Twigs let go. Leaves slip and spin. Wind sweeps-leaves blow!" The crisp, full-color photographs saturate every spread, providing varying perspectives, from close-ups of individual leaves to wide shots of trees of every hue on the water's edge. Short paragraphs at the end offer information on the science behind the changing colors and the life cycle of the leaves. VERDICT While there are a multitude of books about leaves and autumn, this one is a standout for its elegance, simplicity, and gorgeous photography-perfect for sharing with the youngest learners.-Jody Kopple, Shady Hill School, Cambridge, MA

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from June 1, 2017
Preschool-G *Starred Review* So long, summer. Green, goodbye! begins this picture-book celebration of trees transforming during the fall. Close-up photos highlight the changing hues of leaves, while in a picture of the forest's edge, color differences reveal the shapes of individual trees. Toward the book's end, a double-page scene accompanies the words, So many leaves! / The forest glows. Turn the page to read, Leaves fade / and brown / and decompose, and view three photos showing those stages of change. With the same format and approach as its companion book, Best in Snow (2016), this large volume becomes another fitting showcase for Sayre's exceptional color photographs. Not only are the striking pictures beautifully lit and composed, they also illustrate the ideas in the text with precision and grace. As lovely as the photos are, this is not an idealized vision of the natural world. The leaves themselves often have blemishes, holes, and eaten-away bits. Sayre clearly respects her audience as well as her subject. The appended Look Closer: Leaves section offers clear, succinct information related to the text and introduces scientific vocabulary (chlorophyll, deciduous, xylem), while commenting on how fall colors vary from place to place and year to year. Stunning illustrations illuminate this well-focused, useful presentation.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)

January 1, 2018
A companion to �cf2]Raindrops Roll�cf1] and �cf2]Best in Snow�cf1], this title showcases the beauty of autumn leaves. Simple poetry and magnificent photographs, both close-ups and wide shots, follow the progression of deciduous leaves turning gold, red, and orange; to falling leaves; to decomposition as winter arrives. Short paragraphs at the back explain the botanical science behind the changes. Reading list.

(Copyright 2018 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)