Snow or sunshine in March? A poetic salute to spring, with two picture books (ages 3-8)

As much of the US digs out from powerful snowstorms this week, we've been basking in glorious sunshine in California. March brings both snow and sunshine--hopefully spring will start to emerge across the country. Two picture books perfectly capture this contrast, both with beautiful photography and simple, poetic text.

Best in Snow
by April Pulley Sayre
Beach Lane / Simon & Schuster, 2016
Amazon / Your local library
ages 3-8

While the striking photographs will draw young readers into this book, the poetic language is what really stands out to me. With just a few words on each page, April Pulley Sayre conveys the magic and wonder of a snowy day. Here, each line is on a separate page:

"Snowflakes land on a squirrel's nose.
Snow sails. It settles,
shows shapes, dusts wings." 

This simple, concise language encourages readers to linger, look at the illustrations, and think about the word choice. Just look at the verbs she's choosing: sails, settles, dusts. Here's another sample, with the illustrations:

"Snowfall quickens and thickens. Snow clumps and clings. But then..."

But perhaps you're tired of snow, and really want to see the promise of springtime. Or maybe you're here in California, with our sunshine and flowers. Pair Best in Snow with Shelley Rotner's Hello Spring! to see how both authors use poetic language to capture a moment.

Hello Spring!
by Shelley Rotner
Holiday House, 2017
Amazon / Your local library
ages 3-8
*best new book*

Rotner also pairs photographs with strong poetic descriptions, here showing children and animals outdoors as winter turns to spring. I love the diverse range of kids she includes. She really helps kids see themselves in all of these scenes. This is a great book to read aloud with preschoolers and kindergarteners as you're talking about the transition from winter to spring.

"Snowdrops peek out
from under melting snow.
The sun shines stronger.
The lays get longer.
The earth warms.
Frozen streams thaw.
Tree sap flows.
A chorus of tree frogs sings wake up, wake up!"

The flow of the language makes this a joy to read aloud. Look at all of the science concepts she's conveying. The excellent layout and design focuses emerging reader's attention on key descriptive words. The clean font choice makes this well suited for new readers.

Both of these would make excellent books to share with 2nd-4th graders, especially as a model of strong, descriptive writing. Challenge them to writing with this simple noun-verb pattern, perhaps with just one adjective. See how powerful they can make their writing while keeping it simple.

I want to end with a slice of my life, and share California poppies from my walk today. The sunshine was truly glorious, and the poppies nearly glowed in the late afternoon sun.

California poppies from my walk today

The review copies were kindly sent by the publishers, Beach Lane / Simon & Schuster and Holiday House. If you make a purchase using the Amazon links on this site, a small portion goes to Great Kid Books. Thank you for your support.

©2017 Mary Ann Scheuer, Great Kid Books