And Then It's Spring

Readers of Shaun Tan's The Red Tree will recognize the glum-to-radiant trajectory of Fogliano's soft-spoken debut, subtly illustrated by Caldecott Medalist Stead (A Sick Day for Amos McGee). Unfolding as a single sentence that carries readers from late winter to spring (almost every page opens with an "and," pushing things along), the story focuses on a boy in blank-eyed glasses, who slouches in barren farmland with a dog, a turtle, and other assorted animals and birds. "First you have brown, / all around you have brown." The boy plants seeds in the packed earth and waits for the plants to grow. Worry and waiting are recurring themes: did birds eat the seeds? what about that trio of bears, seen happily ignoring the boy's "please do not stomp here" sign? Pale blue sky and tawny drabs flood Stead's block-print-and-pencil images, which yield not a sprout until the closing spread, "and now you have green, / all around you have green." In an understated and intimate partnership, Fogliano and Stead conjure late winter doldrums and the relief of spring's arrival, well worth the wait. Ages 4-7. Illustrator's agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Feb.)

Copyright 2011 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2--"First you have brown...all around you have brown." A boy and his dog wait and wait in the gloom of late winter for the first signs of spring. Blue sweater and red pom-pom hat brighten an otherwise bleak landscape as the boy digs, plants, sows...and waits. Accompanied by his equally anxious pooch, a rabbit, a turtle, and a bird, he looks for some color of the season. "Is that a little green?," he wonders, wielding a magnifying glass to a small mound of dirt. "No, still brown." He also worries...have the birds eaten all the seeds? Has the bears' stomping crushed them? While the young gardener bemoans the fact that the bears can't read his "Please, no stomping" sign, viewers chuckle as one beast stretches and lazily scratches his underarm with the sign while another sits with a flowerpot on his head. A wish for rain works, resulting in a "hopeful, very possible sort of brown." An underground maze shows mice and worms readying the ground while a "greenish hum" fills the air. Then the sun shines brightly as the boy hangs a tire swing and sways patiently. Walking outside the next morning to greet the relentless brown, he is happily surprised--"And now you have green! All around you have green." Erin E. Stead's whimsical wood-block-and-pencil illustrations are gently animated, adding to Julie Fogliano's tender tale (Roaring Brook, 2012). The male narrator's voice reflects the characters' disappointment, hope, and joy when the much anticipated green finally and gloriously appears. An interview with the first time author reveals her Catskill Mountain inspiration and how she came to collaborate with Caldecott-winner Stead. Use to enrich units on spring, plants, or gardening.--"Barbara Auerbach, P.S. 217, Brooklyn, NY" Copyright 2013 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"This sweet seedling will undoubtedly take root and thrive. "—"Kirkus", Starred Review "Fogliano's poetic yet grounded narrative is reminiscent of Charlotte Zolotow's picture-book texts in its understatement and straightforward, childlike observations...As for the illustrations, there's no sophomore slump for Stead: her second book is even better than her 2011 Caldecott winner, "A Sick Day for Amos McGee" (rev. 5/10)." —"Horn Book Magazine", Starred Review "A first-time author and the Caldecott Award-winning illustrator of A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011) team up in this beautiful ode to a patient gardener." —"Booklist", Starred Review