Everything Spring

by Jill Esbaum

Surround yourself in Everything Spring. Stunning photography and detailed imagery capture the uplifting spirit of our favorite season in this counterpart to the National Geographic bestseller A Tree for All Seasons.

We think of spring and we feel warmer, sunny days, we smell the freshness of nature’s flowers blooming again, and we picture little chicks and furry bunnies. These adorable baby animals are fun to look at and they represent the spirit of renewal and life that is spring. Every young creature finally ventures outside to play as the dreary days of winter fade away and color surround us all. Spring is about being outdoors enjoying all that our wonderful planet has to offer—it’s about living life to the fullest.

In Jill Esbaum’s beautifully photographed picture book, young children can see, hear, and feel the warmth of springtime by reading and learning all about chicks, bunnies, and the other baby animals that come out to play in springtime.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction

16 pages, Paperback

First published February 9, 2010

About the author

Jill Esbaum is a full-time writer and author of I am Cow, Hear Me Moo!, I Hatched!, Stanza, and Tom’s Tweet, among many others. She lives on a farm with her husband and children in Dixon, IA.

Reviews

[Kristen Kurre · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything Spring is a great nonfiction picture book for beginning readers. The pages present clear and vibrant photos of baby animals and detailed photographs of living things that grow in the spring. The author uses poetic language to connect children to the wonders of the season. This book can make learning about spring come alive for students. By reading this book, children can learn about springtime and read about chicks, bunnies, and other baby animals that come out in the spring time.

I would use this book with my students by teaching them a science lesson about the four seasons and focus on spring. This book is also a great way to tie in the five senses to the book because the students can be asked while looking at the images of spring what they might see, hear, and feel when discussing the baby animals and other living things found during springtime. The classroom teacher could encourage students to draw their responses and explain how their drawings represent springtime. For students who are a little older, this book would be a great read aloud before giving a writing prompt about spring. The book could inspire students to state many other details about spring since many examples are given in the book. Also, students could compare and contrast spring to the other seasons.

This is a wonderful book to use with young students learning about spring. The realistic illustrations and creative text will keep the students engaged and eager to learn more about spring.

[babyhippoface · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this seasons series from National Geographic Kids. Adorable, sharp photographs of newborn animals and budding plants and the accompanying brief narrative give a personified view of spring: Spring tiptoes in, stirring up earthy smells, coaxing color from the winter-brown woods. Alliterative phrases like these lend a poetic feel to the spare text. This series is an excellent addition to elementary libraries for use with pre-k and kindergarten units on the seasons or in the language arts classroom when discussing personification.

[Latosha Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book's illustrations are real photos in which students can refer to and make connections with the text. This book tells about the different things that happen in spring. The author tells the reader how things grow in the spring (mushrooms, flowers, and rubbery). Students can draw a picture of what spring looks like to them or they could write about it. This could be a literacy station.

[Diane · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In a sheltered bend, wiggly black tadpoles wait, feeling froggier by the day."

A poetic description of spring with adorable baby animal pictures and figurative language, including onomatopoeia and personification.

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a cute book about spring.

[Allen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good pictures.

[Krislyn]

I wanted to include an informational-style text in my collection of spring books. I found this one and think it’s a good addition. I think that my students will enjoy it!

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Preschoolers will love the pictures of cute, baby animals in this short nonfiction book.

[Siskiyou-Suzy]

Useful book about spring appropriate for preschoolers. It has magazine vibes, just feels a little bit different than a regular picture book.

[寿理 宮本 · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean, National Geographic is certainly good at one thing: pretty pictures. There's not really much else to this, though—it's hardly "Everything" Spring so much as a series of good, high-resolution photos that have a vaguely "spring" theme to them, with ducklings and other baby animals on a background of lush green. The narration is tenuously linked to the photos with a somewhat childish tone to it ("In a sheltered bend, wiggly black tadpoles wait, feeling froggier by the day."), hardly in-depth reporting on what's shown.

Good read for very young readers, but not a lot else to excite older ones.

[Shawna Ridgley · Rating 2 out of 5]

Adorable pictures. Basic words.

[Mommywest · Rating 4 out of 5]

Concise yet beautifully descriptive text is accompanied by fantastic photography in this fun book that introduces children to "everything spring!" Spring unit for preschool.

[Carissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great pictures paired with an informational story.

[Colleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great photos of adorable spring animals.