Our Seasons

by Grace Lin, Ranida T. Mckneally

What's your favorite season?

Follow Ki-ki, Owen, Lily, and Kevin through the year as they explore the four seasons.

Cheerful haiku accompany season-related questions and answers about weather, the natural world, and the human body. Find out why we have seasons and how they vary around the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, Picture Books, Poetry, Nature, Science, Childrens, Stem

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a facts book by Grace Lin (I do love her work) about the seasons. It’s a great beginners book informing children on seasons and wind and all kinds of questions they may have about the Earth they live on. Nice artwork

The nephew said, “I know all about this stuff. This book is for babies.” I asked him, “Didn’t you learn anything new? Usually, there is always something new.” He said, “Nope, nothing.” He gave this book 1 star and he wanted something else to read that was exciting. He had an attitude today, maybe that explains some of it.

[Ms. B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Using inquiry questions, this is a solid introduction to the seasons. If you liked The Bears' Almanac by Stan and Jan Berenstain and would like a more informative and modern title for further learning, this is the book for you.

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Our Seasons' is a wonderful and in-depth book about all four seasons. This book addresses themes such as why we see our breath when it's cold, allergies, humidity, etc. with a small group of children of different ethnicities. It explores how the earth revolves around the sun which then results in our changes of seasons and leads with a child asking a question before giving the explanation (i.e. why is there frost on the window?). This book would be a great addition in a Kindergarten or first grade classroom as they are learning about the varying seasons of the year.

[Jessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I’m heading into a meaty reading or writing challenge, I need something simple to distance me from previous readings or writings. If I’ve been away from a particular reading or writing challenge for quite some time, I need the same.

In both cases, a YA, middle school or children’s book can give me that space.

I read this because I’m starting NaHaiWriMo tomorrow (Feb 1), which is National Haiku Writing Month. I’ve participated for the last few years and each year, I aim to write one haiku per day and read one collection over the course if the month.

I picked this small book up and had no real expectations other than cleansing my palate. But this book was a delight. The haikus are very simple, which I expected but the format was very classical. The illustrations were colorful and set a specific sense of season, which is one of the basic tenets of haikus. And explanations of (or science behind) four seasons actually taught me a thing it two!

[Laura Salas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting combo. It's a book about the seasons. Divided into four sections. Each spread has a haiku and then a nonfiction passage, both relating to same thing. For instance:

Owen tastes the snow.
Swallowing, he licks his lips.
"Needs sugar!" he says.

And then the prose part is What is snow? With 2 paragraphs of explanation.

The haiku are all about several friends. They feel more like prose than haiku, though a couple have beautiful images.

Great concept, though!

[Liz · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay.. did not realize that the short text was a haiku of every picture. Missed that. I did notice all the different kids for each season and appreciated the many representations. A lot of technical information about components of the seasons is provided as an answer to a question for each picture, too. I like that format, but wondering how much can be shared (and understood) while reading the story.

[Hoang Shin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book explains all the curiosities that come with the changing of seasons. You'll find answers to questions like:
Why do the leaves change color?
How come I can see my breath in the cold?
Why do my cheeks get red in the cold?

Students can use this book as a reference for research assignments, and explore how to write informational pieces.
Students can use the facts from this book to compare and contrast seasons. It's also a great source for new science vocabulary as well.

[Nicole · Rating 5 out of 5]

Our Seasons answers questions that both kids and adults have about science in relation to the seasons. It is a mixed text, one side of the page is poem- like following a group of ethnically diverse children through the seasons, and the other side of the page is non fiction, explaining the answers to the questions. There are three questions for each season, Autumn, Winter, Spring, Summer. What is snow? Why do bees like flowers? There is a glossary at the end of the book for the science vocabulary. This book could be started at any point in the year, and it would be great to be read during science lessons about the water cycle, bees, and more. It could be broken up and read during each specific season and then students could do an art project corresponding to each season, or it could be read all at once, and after reading the entire book students could choose their favorite season to do an art project about, as the children in the book do.

[Hamdi Hashi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although this isn't a typical poetry book, this picture book by Grace Lin showcases several haikus about seasons. Haikus are a form of Japanese poetry that follow a specific syllabic pattern; 5, 7, 5. The book is also non-fiction and explains each of the seasons, the characteristics of those seasons, why seasons occur on Earth, and more. The haikus are fun to read and paint a lovely picture in the readers' head. I truly loved this book, and this was the first time I've read a book that combined poetry and non-fiction.

I would recommend this book to 3rd through 5th graders. The poems are fun to read and students can create their own haikus about seasons or weather. The non-fiction portion of the text is also helpful in building students' background knowledge and allows them to do research or learn new facts.

[Leah Delcamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son really enjoyed the season-related questions and answers about weather, the natural world, and the human body found in this book. This is a great read for inquisitive minds with answers to questions like “why do I see my breath when it’s cold?”, “why do leaves change color?”, “why do we have seasons?”, “why do I tan?”, “why do I sneeze?” and many more common questions with simple, easy to understand answers. The illustrations paired well with the content too.

[Maggie Panning · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is nothing exceptional about this book, but it is a sweet little informational book on some of the interesting things about the seasons: Why do fireflies glow? Why is there frost on the window? Why do I tan? and Does everyone have four seasons?

[Kristen Garrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want to remember this book because it would be a great introduction into a unit over the four seasons. It also includes poetry and I love that it starts with a child asking question before giving an explanation.

[Kate Beger · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found Grace Lin books for my two year old granddaughter. I searched for more and found Our Seasons. The pictures are beautiful. I feel like the content is more for a six or seven year old.

[Ting Zhang · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is appropriate for ages 5 to 8 in early childhood classrooms. The book “Our Seasons” talks about the difference of the four seasons. I like this book very much. It is very useful to teach children about the art and science. When children listen to this story, the teacher can ask them questions. For example, “Why do we have seasons?” “How many seasons do we have?” “Which one do you like?” Children can learn the knowledge of each seasonal section movement from the natural world. Teaching science to young children is an important part in the early childhood development. Many young children enjoy asking those science questions such as “Where the wind comes from?” “Why is the sky blue?” “Where dose the sun go at night?” Young children use their various senses to explore their environment. They see flowers growing in the garden in spring time, leaves change color in fall, and the snow is coming in the winter. Science is everywhere. Every day in our lives has a very close relationship with science. It is important to teach science to young children. Science is about helping children to understand and appreciate the world around them. There are many skills as they learn working the sciences. First, children can learn social skills. Science involves a lot of communication with other people. The teacher can bring them to visit the science museums, zoos, and gardens. Children are full of curiosity. Science education inspires children’s curiosity and provides children with valuable ideas. Science activities give children the opportunity to experiment and work and enhance communications in a small group. They can express their ideas with their group members. This book can also teach children about art. For example, drawing the pictures of four seasons and do some interesting handmade works. Handmade works are great ways for children to make choices and solve problems. For example, what color to use. Art is important parts of a child’s development; it is indispensable. Children exposure to art affects other aspects of their learning.

[Brittany · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational

Summary:
this book tells the different seasons through haiku, using descriptive examples and actual terms to describe the differences of the seasons,as well as plants, animals that are indigenous to the season being described.

Critique:
A) Relevance of information presented
B) Although it is not presented in a traditional informational way, the key terms and different plant/ animals are given through poetry format. This is a unique way to present new terms.
C) When describing chlorophyll in the spring, the reader is able to relate to the glossary in the back in order to figure out the definition.

CC) Students can use this as an example in 3-5 grade classrooms and use this to write their own poetry based on actual information, regardless of the subject matter.

[Alexis Smith-Gaddis · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Our Seasons" in a non-fiction children's picture book that can be accessed through TumbleBooks. I particularly enjoyed reading this short, informational children's book about the seasons and weather due to its question-and-answer format. This children's book on TumbleBooks is an animated ebook. I would use this in a second or third grade classroom to teach my students briefly about how seasons occur and weather changes. Topic discussions I could pull from this book could include: wind, vapor, humidity and much more. Also, I would have my students draw me a picture of their favorite season as part of the lesson.

[Taylor Hainley]

"Our Seasons" is a great non-fiction children's book explaining the four different seasons. This book is an easy read for students and I would use this book in a first or second grade classroom. I would have my students make a seasons booklet and on each page of the booklet draw what that season looks like and also write a couple characteristics of that season in it. I could also have the students act out what each season is like. I would use this book in a science lesson. This book could also be put in my science area of my classroom for my students to read.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, that explains the reason for seasons. I really like that this book do not need to be read in one sitting. The set-up makes it easy to focus on one season at a time. The author also chose to write the book with two types of writing. On one page you will find informational text for the teacher to read, on the other side there is one or two story lines that some students could read on their own. Very informative and great pictures.

[Sq.Hill Library · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really nice book about the seasons in a nice format. On one page
is a haiku about something related to one of the four seasons and on the facing page is a longer explanation about it. Nice illustrations too.

[Earl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grace Lin writes the haiku and does the art work for this picture book following four kids throughout the seasons. Ranida T. McKneally provides the facts behind the topics.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful and informative.

[Abbey Gross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great explanation book. It describes why we have seasons, what makes the weather and how each season is formed.

[Sarah Bosworth]

So informative! I learned a lot from this book and everything is explained very well, while still using good vocabulary.