Grow

by JoAnn Early Macken, Stephanie Fizer Colman (Illustrator)

An ideal birthday or baby gift, Grow is a triumphant celebration of how young animals -- and people -- grow into unique individuals.

What would it be like to grow from an acorn into an oak, a tadpole into a frog, or a fawn into a deer? You would stretch your limbs into the sky, jump from puddle to pond, and spring from path to forest. Children learn to do these things and more as they grow from tiny babies into individuals unlike anyone else in this whole dazzling world. Life is full of change; this reassuring picture book honors the changes that make you unique. Grow is a glorious ode to the wonders of growing up.

Genres: Picture Books, Nature, Childrens, Science, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

Published March 23, 2021

About the author

JoAnn Early Macken is the author of six picture books, including Grow, Baby Says “Moo!”, Waiting Out the Storm, and Flip, Float, Fly: Seeds on the Move, and more than one hundred educational books for children. Her poems appear in many children’s magazines and anthologies, including Hop to It! Poems to Get You Moving and the Poetry Friday Anthology for Celebrations. Her poetry instruction guide Write a Poem Step by Step is based on her workshops.

JoAnn earned her M.F.A. in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts. She has taught graduate, undergraduate, and continuing education writing courses at four Wisconsin colleges. She presents writing workshops for writers of all ages.

JoAnn lives in Shorewood, Wisconsin. Visit her web site at www.joannmacken.com.

Reviews

[Sandy Brehl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lively, lyrical, and lovely, this seemingly simple series of "What if..." questions provide rich responses for a diverse series of children and their adults. The science is solid, incorporating accurate terminology within poems presented in prose layout. The promos suggest this as perfect for babies and very young, but it also provides vivid figurative language for use as mentor text in writing activities. It concludes with a call to the analogy and challenge that growth continues, that individuals are distinct and valuable, and that life should be embraced and celebrated- making it an ideal graduation-life-change moment gift as well.

[Leslie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet book with beautiful illustrations.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's time to celebrate and learn about many things that grow, like an acorn that splits and roots and "grows" into an oak tree or a caterpillar that sheds its skin and wraps itself into a cocoon, then becomes "a butterfly"! In repetitive text, the description of "something" shares beginnings with "If you", most often the actions like "If you were a tadpole, you'd swish and dart in a mossy pond," all the steps leading to "You'd be a leopard frog..." Delightfully happy pictures by Stephanie Fizer Coleman show children and grandparents filling the pages as each one enjoys nature's wonders. JoAnn Early Macken's text is brief but does not waste one word explaining eight creatures, including a child reading this book! It's a lovely surprise at the end, connecting all of us as we truly are.
I've met JoAnn at a poetry workshop and know her through social media. She is a fierce lover of nature and taking care of our environment. This book will be special to use on long nature walks with a class or your own children or grandchildren, perhaps searching for their own "If you were a ..."?

[Maria Marshall · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beginning with a young girl learning about an acorn and mimicking its growth into a mighty oak by stretching her legs and arms wide, the book then follows a diverse cast of children as they and their guardians discover insects, frogs, turtles, ducks, and fawns. As they watch each one grow, they model behaviors in fun moments of play. The book does a great job of giving a snapshot of each life cycles and including wonderful scientific terms (like "scutes"). It beautifully wraps up with a look at how each child has grown. A sweet story about growing and changing.

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love how this book explores how various aspects of nature grow and change--from acorns breaking out of their shells to tadpoles turning into frogs. I also like how it features a variety of families. However, for young children who may not know everything about the various life cycles of these things, adults might need to do some explaining... So, it's probably better to read this one to ones too little to question much, or for older kids who have a grasp of the connection between caterpillars and butterflies.

[Sunnie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute little story for parents to read to their youngsters (aged 6 months-4 years). The illustrations are entirely appropriate to the subjects on each page and rather cute. I particularly liked that certain expressions were explained for the younger set as many books of this type do not always define terms that may be unfamiliar. A good book for bedtime, or early afternoon cuddletime.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a pretty picture book that I'm sure would be good on a display for earth month. The text leans more to the lyrical side, touching on the life cycles of different animals and plants. While the illustrations were colorful, I just could it a bit mature in tone so I don't know if I would consider this for storytime.

[Kimber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and beautifully illustrated! My nieces (age 6 and age 3) adore this book. Perfect present for the little ones in your life!

[Addie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute. 2 year old liked it