Perfect Picture Book Friday -- Leaflets three . . .

This week it's back to nature. Spring is here in the Midwest. Trees are leafing out, the grass is green, flowers are growing, the summer birds are arriving, finding mates, and preparing nests. Bees and butterflies are flittering and searching for food. We are getting loads of rain and still have cooler temperatures, but nature and wildlife continue unabated including the plant discussed in this week's Perfect Picture Book. . .

Title: Leaflets Three, Let it Be! the story of poison ivy
Author: Anita Sanchez
Illustrated by: Robin Brickman
Publisher: Boyd Mills Press, 2014

Opening Lines: Winter woods are dark. Bare branches rattle in the icy wind. A thick brown vine creeps up a tree. Shaggy rootlets help it cling to the bark.

Themes: Nature, plants, STEM, food webs, 3-D art,

Description and Why I love this book:
An ode to poison ivy. This is one of those books that provides you with an understanding of a plant beyond our narrow itchy world of the plant. It helps a person of any age understand that while the oil in the plant may give humans a rash and make us itch, the plant itself provides food and protection for many animals.

I will admit, that just thinking about coming into contact with poison ivy makes me feel itchy, but I also know that the more I know about it the better I can protect myself from ending up with the itchy rash. The only thing that would have made this book better would have been to provide a pronunciation of the word urushiol. (That's the oil that causes a rash on humans.) That is being really nit picky and in no way takes away from the book and below, you can hear how it is pronounced.

This book takes you through a full year cycle of the plant to learn how it benefits wildlife while at the same time showing you all of its parts and colors, shapes, and sizes so that you can let it be. The back matter is written in a Q &A format and answers the burning questions you may have when you actually end up with a rash and blisters.

On the very last page, there is an artist's not about how Robin Brickman created the incredible life-like artwork for this book. So much loving attention to the plant and wildlife.

As I was putting the last touches on this post, it hit me that the title has a double meaning. "Let it be." Don't touch it because you don't want the itchy rash. Also, don't touch it because it is a beneficial plant in nature. You may not want it growing in your home garden and may need to get rid of it in places where people spend time, but allow it to grow as in natural areas so animals, birds and insects have access to its benefits.

I first learned about this book reading Melissa Stewart's Celebrate Science blog and a post by Anita Sanchez. A great post and a wonderful blog to follow if you like science and/or writing non-fiction.

Every nature center and earth science program should have a copy of this book. Then they should have a program on poison ivy and food webs.


Finally, if you want to find more cool picture books check out Susanna Hill's Blog where you can look for reviews by book, title, and by themes.

Spring Fling Writing Contest -- April Snow! Oh, No!

I love writing stories for these writing contests. They are a great way to practice writing to make every word important. They help focus the mind and the story and allow a person to play with ideas and strengthen imagination.

Spring Snow

https://media.giphy.com/media/Xik4r2GSVoVva/giphy.gif

April Snow. Oh, No!

(150 words)

The weatherman said, “Snow.” Sophie moaned, “It can’t be so.

Today has been warm and sunny. To tease about snow, is not funny!

Tomorrow, I’ll take a stand.” Sophie would wear shorts and T as planned.

The day dawned bright just as Sophie hoped. Her mother begged, “Please take your coat!”

School went as usual, language arts, math, then gym.

Outside the winds blew and snow clouds moved in.

Snow fluttered and fell, then the recess bell.

With gusto, Sophie went to play. She’ll never admit to shivering that day.

After recess and lunch, lessons to learn. Science and reading, everyone taking a turn.

Students packed up, their boots strewn on the floor.

Ding!

Sophie stood tall as she marched out the door.

She smiled in awe. The snow had all thawed.

“I never believed what that weatherman said.”

Once home, 

she slipped on warm jammies and crawled into bed.

Thank you to Kaitlyn and Ciara for creating this one. To read more spring giphy stories, click here.

So proud to be winner in this contest.  Thank you Melissa Stoller for copies of your wonderful books. A lovely reward! 

Worm and Butterfly: A Spring Forest Story

by Sarah Tobias

Worm was sound asleep deep in the soil when he was awakened by a poke.

“Who’s there?” he asked, but no one answered so he curled back up when . . .

Poke . . .

Poke.

“Hey!” he yelled in his tiny little voice. “Stop poking me, I’m trying to sleep though winter.

Worm moved a little deeper in the soil, curled up, and was almost asleep when . . .

POKE!

Worm couldn’t see a thing, but he had tiny bristles all along his body that worked almost as well as eyes so he began to investigate. He headed up and discovered that the thing that was poking him was long and slender, soft and fresh. Up, up, up he went, the soil and the slender thing getting cooler as he went until he bumped head first into a big clump of long slender things. He pushed and twisted his way around and out of the soil and onto it.

“Hmm,” he said out loud to no one, “The earth smells green.” And then, “What’s green?”

“It’s a color,” said a bee as it buzzed over the worm. Can’t you see that spring is here?”

“No, I can’t see, I don’t have eyes,” replied the worm.

“Oh, sorry,” the bee buzzed. “I didn’t know.”

“Would you be my eyes?” asked the worm.

“No time. The Queen does not like us dilly dallying around. Gotta go.” Off the bee buzzed, the vibration of the wings tickling every hair on worm’s body.

Worm was starting to get warm and feeling a bit dry, so he crawled under some leaves and started to eat.

Something landed on the leaf over his back.

“Ooh!” he quivered and wiggled out from under the leaf.

A butterfly flapped her wings and turned to look down at worm.

“So sorry. I didn’t see you there. I was too busy tasting the flowers.

“Flowers?” asked worm.

“Oh yes, they are quite beautiful and filled with a delicious juice. Look up. They are blue and green and pink and yellow and . . . Butterfly ran out of breath.

“I can’t see,” said worm.

“I didn’t realize.”

“Do you have time to tell me more?”

“I’d love to as long as you don’t mind if I drink along the way.”

“Not at all. I hope you don’t mind if I eat?”

Butterfly didn’t mind and she flew up to a bunch of flowers.

“This flower is blue and a little bit pink. You know when the sun shines and you feel kind of hot? Well, that’s yellow – bright yellow – squint your eyes yellow. Oops, sorry, I didn’t mean to offend you.”

“That’s OK, I know you didn’t mean anything mean, but I understand what you said, Hot means dry and I head for cover – so that’s yellow. But what ‘s blue?”

“Well, when a cloud floats in front of the sun, you can see the sky is a beautiful blue. It’s bright and cooling. Like a breeze.”

“Oh, I know blue – it’s when my bristles are tickled by the wind.”

“Yes, these flowers are the color of the breeze tickling your bristles.”

“Then what is pink?” worm asked.

“Pink is soft and gentle.”

“Like when I meander through the grass.”

“Sure,” replied butterfly, who wasn’t sure at all.

“Tell me more.”

“Well, there are a bunch of flowers and they droop like dresses hanging and dangling in the wind.”

“Like dresses?”

“I don’t know either,” said butterfly. “That’s just what came to me.

“Oh,” replied worm. Kind of like how I know green – I just know.”

“Yes!” exclaimed butterfly.

Butterfly was busily drinking nectar and worm got hot and bored. He wriggled down into the leaves and was thinking about going deeper into the soil when he bumped into a new plant.

“Hey,” he called. “What’s this? It feels different that the other flower you were talking about.”

Butterfly flew down into the tangle of plants.

“Pee eww! I don’t know, but it smells yucky.”

Just then a fly flew down. “I don’t think it smells so bad.” And the fly disappeared into the flower.

“Yum—mmmmmmmmmm hum—mmmmmm” went the fly and then there was no sound at all.

“The flower ate the fly!” cried worm. With courage he didn’t know he had, he wriggled over to the flower, lifted up on his back end and leaned into the flower.

“Fly, fly are you OK?”

“Grunt, hum-mm, buzz, what? Oh, sorry, I fell asleep. That’s tasty pollen and it’s nice and warm in here. I bet there’s more pollen in other flowers.” And off flew fly.

An army of ants marched up.

“Are they ready yet?” asked the head ant.

“Are what ready yet?” responded worm.

“The seeds. They make good eating.”

“Oh, I don’t know, fly just said the pollen tasted good.”

“Not ready then.” The ants marched off.

“Yummy!” came the distant sound of butterfly.

“What?” called worm. “What is it?”

“It’s shiny bright yellow.”

“Be careful – Hot! Hot! Hot!” exclaimed worm.

“It’s that kind of color, but not hot. It’s like butter, shiny and smooth, almost slippery.”

Before butterfly could taste more nectar, a big bumble bee buzzed in and bumped butterfly out of the way.

“Oh, look!” cried butterfly flitting over to a tall stand of lavender flowers. Out came her proboscis and she began to drink. “Hum-mmmm.”

“What is it asked worm?”

Iths pupple.” Mumbled butterfly not even stopping to roll up her tongue.

“Pupple?”

Butterfly stopped drinking for a moment. “Purple, light lovely purple. It’s the best! The tastiest color. So many flowers. I have to go worm. I’m really hungry.” Without another word, butterfly flew to the next flower and drank and drank and drank.

“Purple – tastiest color ever.” Worm thought for a moment and said to on one in particular, “Like the soil. Purple is the soil.” With that worm wiggled down into the cool dark earth and he ate and ate and ate.