Sensing A Season

Today marks the passage of one full week of summer.  Even while celebrating the longest day of the year, the additional sunlight, warmth, abundance of wildlife and vacation adventures, our days are starting to get shorter.  We've lost nearly a full minute of daylight in these seven days. 

With the time lessening each day, there is only one thing to do.  We need to make the most of this season.  Super Summer: All Kinds Of Summer Facts And Fun (Henry Holt And Company, May 7, 2019) written by Bruce Goldstone with some of his photographic images, too, is a guide to enjoying every marvelous moment. 

SUMMER 

IS A 

SUPER SEASON

OF

PLENTY.

In summer there's plenty

of sun and plenty of fun.

Fields are filled with plenty of 

flowers, fruits, and vegetables.

Animals have no trouble finding

plenty of food.

Although we rarely think about it, summer means we are crossing off days on the calendar toward the autumnal equinox.  On this day, twelve hours of twenty-four are given to day and to night. Until then more heat from the sun means we need to protect our eyes and skin and stay cool.  Drinking plenty of water is one solution.  Animals can help to cool themselves by panting, shedding unnecessary fur, hiding in cooler areas in their habitats or even by practicing estivation.  This state of dormancy offers protection during extended heat and lack of rain.

In thinking about summer, how does it feel to you?  How does it touch you?  How do you touch it?  Gardeners tend to brilliant-colored annuals and perennials.  These flowers are sheer pleasure for pollinators who drink the nectar and help reproduction.  Sunflowers, before they're fully developed follow the sun from east to west. 

We enjoy a bounty of fruits and vegetables.  What is your favorite summer food?  Is it cool, sweet, spicy, sticky or juicy?  

Insects flourish in the summer.  It's a good idea to be aware of those that bite and sting.  Other critters are bright, nearly always in motion and have spectacular abilities; the chirping of crickets, the blinking of fireflies and the magical water striders.

As the narrative continues, we are challenged to point out different geometric shapes, listen for sounds more often heard in summer and to think where we would go on a dream vacation.  We are encouraged to participate in activities in the water, on land and in the air.  As the days pass into months, holidays are highlighted until we start thinking about school days and the falling leaves of fall.

When we read this chronicling of the summer season written by Bruce Goldstone his enthusiasm for opportunities is conveyed to readers.  It begins with his use of the word plenty.  There is more of everything in the summer. 

Within each two pages he starts with a single thought.  He supports this by following with several facts which might be a single sentence or a paragraph.  He moves easily from heat to cooling to our sensory perceptions, and then focusing on flora and fauna.  He asks us to be constant observers and doers.  Here is a passage.

YOUNG

SUNFLOWERS

FOLLOW THE

SUMMER SUN.

Some plants follow the sun during the day.  This process

is called heliotropism.

Young sunflowers move their blossoms to face the sun as it

moves from east to west each day.  When a sunflower is 

growing, each side of its stem grows at different times.  . . .  

The lush yellows on the matching dust jacket and book case are sure to have readers wondering what treasures are to be found inside.  It is now when butterflies are seen at work among the flowers.  (This is currently prevalent in gardens and fields in northern Michigan.)  The other primary color of the title text like water in a pool or lake adds to the lure of summer.

To the left, on the back, summer scenes are placed like a frame around a beach scene.  The words

A COMPREHENSIVE LOOK AT ALL THE

SENSATIONS 

OF SUMMER 

is tucked in the sky.  The first three title covers for the other seasons are placed in the sand.

A luminescent yellow colors the opening and closing endpapers.  The front of the jacket and case is repeated on the title page.  Throughout the book double-page photographs, in a variety of perspectives ask for our attention.  At times smaller images will be placed on these larger visuals.   The shift in point of view noted with the collage effect of the layout increases interest and exploration.  Shapes associated with summer will frame some of the pictures; sun with rays, waves, flowers, circles like bubbles, leaves, butterflies and postcards.  In addition to photographs taken by the author, visuals are used from Shutterstock and Adobe Stock.  Whenever possible children from diverse backgrounds are shown throughout this title.

One of my many favorite images is a collection on a large two-page picture of a sunny summer field.  On top of this on the left is a bright red flower with a Monarch butterfly on the petals.  To the right in circles readers are brought in close to see a labeled stamen and pistil on a flower and to see a group of honeybees working on another single flower.  

The fourth book in the series, Super Summer: All Kinds Of Summer Facts And Fun written by Bruce Goldstone with some of the photographs his own, is sure to inspire even more excitement for this season and increase an appreciation for all the possibilities.  As in the previous titles, Awesome Autumn: All Kinds Of Fall Facts And Fun, Wonderful Winter: All Kinds Of Winter Facts And Fun and Spectacular Spring: All Kinds Of Spring Facts And Fun, Bruce Goldstone closes with a series of crafts and activities along with instructions for their completion.  I highly recommend this title and this series for your professional and personal collections for the presentation of the information and images.  Readers are certain to be engaged.

To learn more about Bruce Goldstone and his other work, please access his website by following the link attached to his name.  At the publisher's website you can view several interior pages. 

A Wide Awake World

Yesterday morning the exchange of chickadees' conversations and the buzzing of insects serenaded my furry friend and me on our morning walk.  Hours later in the evening the view during a thirty minute drive had altered considerably.  The change was stunning and unbelievable with shades of green and patches of color spread over the landscape.  It was as if a magic wand had been waved over everything.  A group of five deer scampered across the road.  Later a lone doe casually walked in front of the car and stopped to watch.

Each day the changes expand and are more startling. This morning the arrival of returning Sandhill cranes was announced with their signature bugling.  Spectacular Spring: All Kinds Of Spring Facts And Fun (Henry Holt And Company, February 27, 2018) written and partially illustrated by Bruce Goldstone acquaints readers with an array of seasonal sensations.

SPRING IS A SEASON OF SPECTACULAR BEGINNINGS.

Green plants and colorful
flowers begin to grow.

Animals shake off the cold
of winter.

People start spending more
time outdoors.

The additional length of daylight and the shorter nights are leading us day by day to the summer solstice in the northern hemisphere. We get to shed our warmer clothing and exchange it for proper spring attire.  The snow squalls are replaced with thunderstorms and rain showers.  How many of you have carried an umbrella on a windy day to have it suddenly turn inside out?  (Although the results leave you rather wet, it is funny to see happen.)

If you are fortunate to be outside in the rain, with the right conditions, a rainbow will arch across your view.  As you continue to examine this new season try, with caution and knowledge, to experience the sensory perceptions.  We are asked to feel soft new grass, the warm wind and the squishy mud.

What kind of blossoms do we see?  Is that forsythia?  Gardeners' bulbs planted in the fall pop through the dirt in the form of tulips, hyacinth and daffodils, to name a few.  You will be rewarded if you take the time to smell each one.  Seeds, having traveled by a variety of methods or planted by machine or hand, move the soil aside to grown.

With spring come animal babies.  If you are lucky a bird will build a nest nearby so you can watch the evolution of new life.  Other animals wake up from their winter rest or return home.  Every living thing is stirring anew, even you.


With the first three sentences, three facts reveal noticeable truths about the season of spring.  Bruce Goldstone continues to challenge us with observable shifts from winter to spring.  He speaks about the differences in light and darkness, our clothing and the weather.  He asks us to use our senses by focusing on how things feel, what we see, how they smell, the shapes found in spring and sounds heard in spring. He contributes more than one page on seeds and baby birds.  His information is easy to understand and reads as if we are in conversation with him.  Here is a paragraph with the heading

WHAT DOES
SPRING 
SMELL LIKE?

Spring is a great time to 
close your eyes and sniff.
Smells travel more easily
in warm air than in cold
air.  As spring days get
warmer, you'll find many
fresh new smells when 
you walk outdoors.


The matching dust jacket and book case are a vibrant collage of sights seen in spring.  On the front we are given a view of spring bulbs blooming, and ladybugs creeping framed in an assortment of leaves.  It's clever to have the letters look as though cut from leaves.  To the left, on the back, amid green grass are five flower shapes.  They show other highlights of spring and the two previous seasonal titles by Bruce Goldstone, Awesome Autumn and Wonderful Winter.

A bright, bold nearly neon green covers the opening and closing endpapers.  Another seasonal scene similar to the front of the jacket and book case frames the text on the title page.  Each page turn reveals marvelous photographs, some taken by the author and others from shutterstock.com.  Many of them span two pages.  Others are placed on a crisp white background drawing attention to the individual elements.

Cutouts are used to frame photographs.  Some of them share space with individual pictures.  Each composed collage invites readers to pause as if taking a walk outside.  The design is as fresh and new as the season, illuminating, respectful and playful.

One of my many favorite pictures spans two pages.  A downpour of rain on a dark surface provides a canvas in dark colors with crystal drops.  The large text on the left and right is a single sentence divided in two.  Beneath the second section is a virtually black umbrella.  It supplies a place for the text describing why we get rain instead of snow in the spring.


This title, Spectacular Spring: All Kinds Of Spring Facts And Fun, written and partially illustrated by Bruce Goldstone is a companion title in one of my favorite series on the seasons.  It welcomes readers to the narrative, information and the changes this season brings.  At the close of the book, Bruce Goldstone includes six activities and how to do them.  You will certainly want a copy of this title for both your personal and professional book collections.

To learn more about Bruce Goldstone and his other work, please visit his website by following the link attached to his name.  At his website there is a place where Bruce gives you the opportunity to contact him.  He states:  I love to hear from readers.  At the publisher's website you can view eight wonderful interior pages.

Embracing The Season

For too many days in May and June this year, residents in northern Michigan were probably wondering if Mother Nature had her seasons confused.  Frost advisories for several nights, cool temperatures in the morning where you could see puffs of breath, birds fluffed up to keep warm and plants and trees late to blossom and unfurl leaves.  Summer has not officially arrived yet but these seasonal oddities are reminders of the short three months until fall follows.

Earlier this spring when walking through the halls and shelves of my home away from home (the public library), a brightly covered book with a catchy alliterative title caught my eye.  Awesome Autumn:  All Kinds Of Fall Facts And Fun (Henry Holt and Company, August 2012) by Bruce Goldstone explores and explains the season.  Reading this will make you long for the equinox. 

AUTUMN 

IS A

SEASON OF

AWESOME

CHANGES.

Look around in autumn and you'll see a lot

of changes happening.  These changes take 

plants, animals, and people from the hot days

of summer to the cold days of winter.

We trade bathing suits and flip-flops for jeans and a sweatshirt.  The wearing of hats, scarves and mittens is not far behind.  We see less sun and more moon as the days shorten and the nights lengthen.

Readers are acquainted with the reason for the colorful array we see, why leaves drop from their branches and their purpose once fallen. Leaves are not alone as they cover the ground; seeds, nuts, pine cones and pods keep them company.  How many varieties of each have you found?  What of those leaves that remain green, bravely staying on the trees?  We learn their title and why.

A more scientific accounting is given for the handiwork of Jack Frost.  Certain animals gear up for long journeys to warmer climes while others dig and sleep.  Not only is the natural world preparing for the upcoming winter but people are working to bring in the fruits of their summer labors; harvesting the bounty.  

Interspersed among these informative pages are sensory discoveries; the touch, taste, shape and sound of autumn.  Crinkly leaves, crisp crunchy apples, witches hats and yard rakes, and the honking of migrating geese fill our world.  New outdoor activities come with the changing season as do the celebration of holidays and the making of crafts.  Fall has it all!

Each aspect visited by Bruce Goldstone throughout the title, clothing, the daylight versus nighttime lengths, the leaves, seeds, pods, nuts and pine cones, the use of our senses, frost, harvesting, migration, hibernation, animal adaptability with the changes, holidays and activities is brought to our attention with clarity and completeness; the length depending on his focus.  The text informs but also asks readers to question and expand their thinking.  Several pages include pictures of various types of leaves, seeds, pods, nuts and cones including identification labels.  Pictures of items associated with autumn ask readers to identify shapes.  We are shown possible handmade activities followed by easy-to-understand instructions for completion.

The entire volume is illustrated with lively, bright photographs. (Some are taken by Goldstone; all of those at the end are.) There is a playfulness to the layout and design which welcomes.  The letters on the jacket and cover are textured with leaves or made using leaves.  Those piles of leaves on the front cascade to the back, creating an orange background where leaf shapes house realistic signs of autumn.

Liberal use of white space highlights and provides a contrast to the colorful hues of the visuals.  Leaf shapes are used extensively to frame photographs.  To accentuate changes the left side of a two page spread will illustrate the before as the right side draws attention to autumn; a T-shirt is attached to a jacket, a tree in sunlight is attached to a tree at night, half of a leaf is green, the other is red, and another tree is shown with yellow leaves attached to a bare tree with snow on the ground.  Each two pages contains one or more large headlines followed by explanatory text and/or labels.  Creativity abounds!


As clean, crisp and colorful as the season itself, Awesome Autumn:  All Kinds Of Fall Facts And Fun by Bruce Goldstone is the go-to title for noting and knowing about this transition.   It's perfect for the individual reader and as a read aloud with a group; sure to prompt discussions and observations.  Without a doubt multiple copies will need to be made available.  Lucky for us I've gotten the word a new book in the series is in the works.

Follow this link to the publisher website to view eight illustrated pages from the title.