Charles is right--Love really IS everything!

 

When you look around, what do you see? Sometimes I see chores that must be done, a yard that must be tended, a bill to be paid. But I have learned from poet and picture book author Charles Ghigna (aka Father Goose)’s latest book LOVE is Everything (published by Schiffer Kids) that “Music, silence, mountains, summer, LOVE is everywhere!”

This beautiful book shows an older bear showing a younger bear the wonders of the world, looking through the lens of love.  Jacqueline East’s soft illustrations give a warm, cozy feel as Ghigna’s rhyming text takes us through the seasons, the arts, and the interactions with each other that make life so wonderful.  “I believe in daydreams/and wishes that come true. I believe in everything./I believe in you” is the perfect ending to this affirming picture book.

This is a great cuddle-at-bedtime book and just the right tonic to help someone feel better after a bad day. It’s a confidence builder when someone has failed or is afraid, and a mindfulness giver when someone feels frantic or overwhelmed. This book is a great book for all ages, to be read with someone they love.

Thanks to Charles Ghigna for the digital copy! This book, like so many other books and supplies, has been on hold through this unusual time, and is now expected to be released in November.

Celebrate the Seasons: Poetree

It's officially fall! We celebrate the changing seasons in many ways, and welcome fall with apple and pumpkin everything. We don our sweaters and sweatshirts and cheer our favorite football teams. We rustle through the fallen leaves and behold the beauty of the changing colors.

In Poetree, Caroline Pignat celebrates each season with sets of acrostic poems. From each vertical word come poetic words and phrases to describe it. For example:

Each spread is beautifully illustrated by Francois Thisdale. Don't you love the cover image where the tree trunk has a fountain pen nib as its root?

This book is a beautiful creative way to  help kids--and people of all ages--see the best in each season and try their own hand at acrostic poetry. Give it a try yourself! Leave an acrostic in the comments. Here's mine:

Frost is coming

Apples are ripe

Leaves change color

Let’s delight!

Seasons Cycle

I have to tell you that January where I live can be brutal with cold, wind, snow, and ice. AND I. DO. NOT. LIKE. IT! Take today, for example--this morning, the temp is 2 degrees F, with a wind chill of -15 degrees. Take yesterday, for example, when this was the view out my kitchen window:

(the circle you see is a reflection of my camera lens, sorry)

That's why I am so grateful for Jane Yolen's new picture book, Sing a Season Song, beautifully illustrated by Lisel Jane Ashlock. Yolen's spare verse reminds me of the delights of each season--and that winter does have delights. The lush illustrations feature realistic animals in their natural habitats through the seasons. The book reminds me that winter will not last forever, but will dissolve into spring, followed by summer, and then fall--the cycle of our lives. 

Truly, the wise writer of Ecclesiastes was correct: "For everything there is a season." This harsh season of BRRRR will pass. Warm days and green grass will come again. Please hurry!

What is your favorite season & why? Do you have a favorite book about seasons?