If You Go Down to the Woods Book Review
Brush your fur, wash your paws, and spiff up your whiskers — information technology's time to join Bear as he shows us around his magical woodland home with cheery poems to read and wondrous things to detect.
If You lot Go Down to the Forest Today by Rachel Piercey and Freya Hartas (Magic Cat Publishing, 2021), is, every bit Kirkus called it, "a bout de forcefulness of interactive two-dimensional nature." And when they say "bout de force" they really hateful it.
I read many poetry picture books throughout the twelvemonth, and this is one of the few that literally had me squealing with delight and atheism when I first saw the art. Wow!
Before reading any of the poems, I joyously pored over the incredible pictures, my eyes getting wider and wider considering there was simply and so much to see!
Okay, yeah, I admit to being fractional when it comes to bears in particular, and can't resist tiny animals doing all fashion of adorable things, but the level of detail and charm here is truly off the scale. And I could barely comprise myself at the prospect of a comely, expert natured acquit poet! *hugs cocky*
Jump is waking up the world! Will you lot come up with me? My woodland home is full of friends, allow'south peek inside and come across . . .
Beginning with Leap, Bear celebrates each flavor by highlighting special events and activities he enjoys with all his animal friends. The book features 16 double page spreads, each with a special Bear-narrated verse form and a seek-and-find legend inviting the reader to spot such wonders as "Mama Weasel wheeling a wheelbarrow," "Papa Deer and Mama Fob launching into the long jump," and "Mice playing frisbee." Kids are asked not only to identify many dissimilar kinds of animals, only to count them as well.
Interesting, unexpected, refreshing. Not bad manner to pull readers into every scene and make them look fifty-fifty closer, with a satisfying payoff each time, since the depictions are actually fifty-fifty cuter than anticipated. Really!
Spring and Fall each boast four events, while there are v for Summertime and 3 for Winter. Flavour headers whet the appetite for what'southward to come:
Spring Brings New Life
- "Bear's World Awakes"
- "Abode Sweet Home"
- "School Days"
- "Bunny'due south Altogether"
Summer Brings the Sun
- "Field Twenty-four hour period"
- "Loftier Summer"
- "Swimming Lessons"
- "Deport'southward Picnic"
- "Putting on a Play"
Fall Brings Shorter Days
- "Goodbye Political party"
- "Rainy Twenty-four hours"
- "Art Course"
- "Bear's Bivouac"
Winter Brings the Cold
- "Winter Sports"
- "Conduct's Winter Feast"
- "Bear's Den"
Kids will dear immersing themselves in all these proceedings, as they observe raccoons, rabbits, owls, ducks, foxes, wrens, bats, squirrels, butterflies, spiders, ants, frogs, chipmunks, caterpillars, skunks, snails and more, doing and then many fun things. Such a fabled style to explore animal habitats and note seasonal changes!
Best of all, for each season there'south some kind of mouthwatering feast: at Bunny'due south Altogether at that place'southward a large plate of "wibbly-wobbly jello" in addition to cake, at Conduct's Picnic in that location are multiple cloths laden with breads, cheese, veggies, pies and cookies; at the Goodbye Political party, a huge picnic featuring apples, berries, and lotsa carrots, and at Bear's Wintertime Banquet, the animals get together around bountiful tables displaying festive plum puddings and hot drinks. Merriment galore, and in so many of the volume'southward spreads, lots of teapots, cups and saucers. 🙂
Here are two more than of my favorite spreads with poems posted in their entirely.
In "School Days," I love the classroom inside a tree trunk with Mama Squirrel giving counting lessons and Raccoon lecturing near mushrooms. Spider teaches the alphabet with his ABC web, Owl opines on the moon, and Nana Rabbit helps students make wind chimes.
"Schoolhouse Days" It'southward time for school inside the woods, to come up and learn together, and make a whole new group of friends with fur or shells or feathers. Our classroom is a hollow trunk, our playground is shut by. Our teachers pad from underground or dart in from the sky. We learn the moon, we feel the sun, nosotros read the irresolute copse, nosotros proceed a record of the swimming, make music from the breeze. And all the different animals look subsequently i another: new-to-school, or oldest hither, neighbors, sisters, brothers.
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"The Art Class" spread is sheer autumnal gorgeousness with all mode of critters busy creating fine art: Frog's painting a vase, Raccoon'southward crafting a jug, and Mice up on a branch are busy quilting. Acquit's a little frustrated, having crumpled up his pic, but he'll probable try again. 🙂
"Art Grade" The sharpness in the air creates a feeling hard to name. The trees are orange, blood-red, gold, each leaf a tongue of flame. And living in this autumn globe, which glows inside the heart, inspires my friends and I to endeavour our paws at works of art. Each artist dreams of building upward their own unique creation, and fills the paper, clay, or fabric with wild imagination. Each slice is dissimilar from the next: the colors, styles, and scenes, and how information technology makes you feel inside and what you lot think it means.
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Whether a paean to inventiveness or a nod to helping ane another, Piercey's spritely rhyming verses are a wonderful way to innovate kids to verse. Their upbeat musicality makes them a pleasure to read aloud.
She's created a friendly, appealing persona for Bear, who imparts interesting facts about nature in every verse form.
Hartas's enchanting illustrations are drawn in pencil and then colored digitally. A nature lover, she enjoys drawing humorous characters and animals in fantastical settings. Not surprisingly, she counts Elsa Beskow and Jill Barklem of Brambly Hedge fame among her fave illustrators.
I particularly love her whimsical humor in depicting the animals because she was able to create oodles of mini visual narratives while expanding on Piercey'south poems. Her animal characters are emotive, fun to follow, and brim with personality.
To height everything off, in that location's a Nature Trail with fun activities at the end to encourage readers to go outside and explore the natural world for themselves.
If You Go Downwards to the Woods Today , with its fetching poems, cute art, and educational interactive elements will provide immature readers with hours of enjoyment. In that location's besides an inspiring over-arching message about living in harmony not only with nature, but with each other, as we see and so many dissimilar creatures getting along and then well together. And of grade, in that location's the sheer wonder of just how varied, interesting, colorful, and amazing Mother Nature truly is.
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Bask this delightful book chat video. Rachel reads several of the poems while Freya draws some of the characters, and they both talk nigh their literary and creative influences. What's also dainty is that you'll be able to see several of the spreads upwardly close in more than particular — this is one book where you definitely accept to see it in person to fully appreciate the fine art.
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IF YOU GO DOWN TO THE WOODS TODAY
written past Rachel Piercey
illustrated by Freya Hartas
published by Magic True cat Publishing, March 2021
Verse Picture Volume for ages iv+, 48 pp.
**Starred Review** from Kirkus
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The lovely and talented Irene Latham is hosting the Roundup at Live Your Verse form. Zip on over to bank check out the total card of poetic goodness being shared around the blogosphere this calendar week. Have a nice weekend!
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**Interior spreads text copyright © 2021 Rachel Piercey, illustrations © 2021 Freya Hartas, published by Magic Cat Publishing. All rights reserved.
***Copyright © 2021 Jama Rattigan of Jama'southward Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.
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Source: https://jamarattigan.com/2021/05/14/furry-review-if-you-go-down-to-the-woods-today-by-rachel-piercey-and-freya-hartas/
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