When autumn brings brilliant colors to the trees of their New England village, Jim and Andy are pressed into service helping their father with his weekend tour-bus operation, ferrying tourists who have come to see the fall foliage around the neighborhood. The boys make fun of the 'Peepers' - so named because they have come to 'peep' at the leaves - but eventually they realize that the natural beauty around them is every bit as awe-inspiring as these visitors believe. Perhaps the Peepers are on to something after all...

'Leaf Peeping' is a colloquial term used in the United States for tourism based around the fall foliage to be found in northern areas of the country - New England and the Upper Midwest, primarily - where the fall colors are most dramatic, most beautiful. It's interesting to note that a similar tradition of touring areas of autumn beauty also exists in Japan, where it is called momijigari ("red leaf hunting"). As someone who has lived in areas that receive large tourist numbers, I could sympathize with Jim and Andy's feelings, in the story here. It can become irritating when everyday tasks are made more difficult because of gawking crowds. I used to have to cross through Time Square every week, on my way to the library to do research, and it always felt like passing through purgatory in order to enter heaven. Fortunately for the boys here, their own tourist mecca is far more beautiful than the glitzy Times Square.

Although sympathetic to her main characters, Eve Bunting resists the urge to make the tourists in Peepers into some kind of villains. If anything, the narrative here demonstrates that their perspective as outsiders, the fact that they 'ooh and ah' at everything, teaches the boys an important lesson about valuing what is all around them. As someone who has always loved the fall colors, and who wants one day to visit Maine's Acadia National Park in autumn, I'll no doubt be a 'peeper' myself one day, although hopefully not an obnoxious one. Bunting is a master at this kind of narrative, in which alternative perspectives are explored, and I appreciated the lessons imparted here, both about learning to see the beauty around us, and about having compassion and understanding of outsiders and/or visitors, even when they annoy us a bit. These are things we could all benefit from! I also appreciated James Ransome's lovely artwork, which captures the wonder of a true New England autumn. Recommended to picture-book readers looking for autumn tales, or for stories about tourism and/or being open to the perspectives of others. ( )

age: 4
Summary: In fall, Jim and Andy help their father run Fred’s Fall Color Tours. When they go to graveyards, they play and laugh, so adult gets angry to them. They learn appropriate behavior and how to engage in group activities.
*Children can engage in prosocial behavior and can judge the appropriateness of specific behaviors and predict the possible consequences of particular behaviors.
Source: Pierce library

Effective - the reader learns the lesson along with the boys. I need to read more Eve Bunting again. I know I did years ago but I see she's more prolific than I realized. ( )

Two boys help their father conduct tours of the town during the fall. These tourists are known as Peepers. They come to town once a year to admire the colorful scenery. The boys do not like going on these tours. One night, when fall has passed, the boys sit outside and as they look at the sky, they begin to understand the beauty of nature. For grades K-3 ( )

This is a good book for the New England region, where there is an entire tourist season devoted to the colorful fall foliage. The two boys in the story are a bit irritating and disrespectful throughout the story, but by the end they come to understand the draw for the tourists, even if they never admit it or feel a need to apologize for the rude behavior. ( )