Very short, simple, and easy to follow, but not especially in a good way. It's a cute concept (a tree whose fall leaves change into different patterns like smiley faces and soccer balls), just not particularly striking or memorable. ( )

A deciduous tree meditates on its life cycle throughout the seasons. Winter, spring, and summer are easy transitions compared to fall, because changing the color of your leaves is tricky! The tree tries several times to get the colors right, with humorous results, before its leaves drop and winter returns. Each page features a single line of pleasingly poetic text accompanying an expressive watercolor vignette of the tree in its seasonal milieu. Keep an eye out for cameos from a family of red-breasted robins and a gray squirrel. Enjoy the inevitable giggles and squeals of recognition at the tree's autumnal artistic attempts. A hidden gem of a book that's perfect for all-ages autumn storytime.

Song pairings: "Autumn leaves are falling down," "The leaves are falling down," "Rain on the grass"
Read-alike: Wonderfall also offers poetry from a tree's perspective and takes a similar approach to the visual layout.

With simple illustrations and equally simple rhymes, the author/illustrator shows how a tree deals with the seasons. Winter, Spring and Summer are easy, but the challenge of leaves changing color makes fall a little harder. The changes can also be a metaphor for starting school and trying to get it right. ( )

Recommended on Storytiming.com

I was really surprised by the turn this book took! When fall comes, the tree's leaves change...but not in the usual way!

The rest of the seasons are as expected, and birds appear at seasonally appropriate times and engage in the usual activities: building a nest, digging for worms, learning to fly, migrating south. (A squirrel also disappears up into the tree with an acorn.)

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Read in storytime for 2-3yos September 10, 2018

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Re-read September 2019. Got some giggles. ( )