Leaf Jumpers

by Carole Gerber, Leslie Evans (Illustrator)

Graceful, poetic text celebrates the beauty of autumn leaves, while the simple text at the end explains why leaves change color. Readers learn how to identify all sorts of leaves by their color, shape, and other characteristics. A great choice for science units and autumn displays. Full color.

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

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well first and foremost, illustrator Leslie Evans' autumn foliage pictures for Leaf Jumpers are absolutely lovely and indeed a true and delightful aesthetic, a wonderful visual treat (and indeed, the leaves are certainly depicted in all their colourful glory), with me also very much appreciating the variety of foliage types that are represented in Leaf Jumpers and that they are both visually represented by Leslie Evans and verbally identified by author Carole Gerber (maples, basswood, willows, oaks etc.).

But while the different autumn leaves and their respective colours as they are depicted by Leslie Evans in Leaf Jumpers are thus superbly visually appealing, sorry, but both my adult self and also my inner child are not really all that willing and not really even able to overlook the fact that Carole Gerber's presented text for Leaf Jumpers is pretty clumsy and awkward, with choppy transitions and also with repetitive vocabulary choices that leave textually inclined me frustrated and annoyed and even rather wanting ONLY Evans' accompanying (and visually spectacular artwork) and indeed NONE of Gerber's at best mediocre and subpar printed words. For yes indeed, the only textual part of Leaf Jumpers I have personally found enjoyable and readable is when Carole Gerber describes the fun of jumping into piles of autumn foliage (and of course her identifying the names of the included leaves), while conversely, with EVERY SINGLE picture in Leaf Jumpers, Leslie Evans provides absolute and total visual magic, and indeed, the latter is also the one and only reason why my rating for Leaf Jumpers is still three and not two stars (and that honestly, said rating is also really quite generous on my part).

So would I actually recommend Leaf Jumpers? I guess I would consider using the spectacular and oh so delightful artwork that Leslie Evans has provided with children and to show them the different types of autumn leaves (their different colours, their shapes and also their names, the names of the different trees). But since I really do think that Carole Gerber's writing is majorly annoyingly and frustratingly awkward, I would probably NOT be using Leaf Jumpers as a read-aloud with or for a group of children, but would instead use Leaf Jumpers only with one to three children, and not bother with the text and only make use of the pictures.

[Inti Dewey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice learning about leaves

[Corinne O’Reilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great poetry book for the fall. It talks about what each shape of leaf is called/the tree they come from, which is not common knowledge but would be really cool to learn about. You could turn this book into real life by taking the class outside to look for different types of leaves.

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author/illustrator team Carole Gerber and Leslie Evans pay tribute to the gorgeous leaves of fall in this lovely seasonal picture book. The poetic text in rhymes describes the colors and shapes of the leaves from eight different trees, as well as the fun of jumping in them, while the linoleum block print and watercolor artwork depicts each scene in gorgeous color. The book closes with a brief discussion of why leaves change color in the fall, and labelled depictions of all eight leaves mentioned in the main text...

Leaf Jumpers is one of several seasonal picture books from this team, with other titles including Winter Trees and Spring Blossoms . It is only the second book I have reader from Gerber, following upon her subsequent Halloween title, 10 Busy Brooms , and my second from Evans, following upon her Autumn: An Alphabet Acrostic , which she illustrated for Steven Schnur. I found it very appealing, with a simple text in rhyme that read well for the most part, and simply beautiful artwork. While there were a few awkward moments in the narrative, they didn't worry me too much, especially as I found the visuals here so strong. I love this kind of block print artwork, which always feels both stylish and folksy. Recommended to picture book audiences looking for fun fall titles, and well as to fellow fans of this illustration style.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the best book I’ve ever found for teaching children about different types of trees based on leaf identification. Even I learned how to better identify trees based on their leaves! This is a wonderful read-aloud for fall and would be a great guide for a nature scavenger hunt!

Side note: The first year I read this, I copied the last page and gave it to families to go home and see if they could identify trees in their own backyard or in the neighborhood. I had a couple of parents come back and say they loved doing this activity!!!!

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed reading this book with Cassie. We loved the brightly colored illustrations and to know what each tree leaves look like. I really like how they show how to sort leaves in different ways. Which is amazing to help preschoolers learn how to sort. I think this book really covered the identity of trees and what happens to their leaves in the fall. Cassie really enjoyed the book and actually begged to keep it in her bed to look over and over again. I highly recommend that you check this book out.

[Kendra Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This would be a good book for a 3rd through 5th-grade class, and children in that age range. This book explains different types of leaves and how they look, even signs for the reader to look for to know which leaf belongs to which tree. This would be a great fall-time story to read with students, then take them outside to identify their own leaves. Or, a great project for a library or daycare. I would recommend for any elementary classroom.

[Debbie Phillips · Rating 4 out of 5]

A wonderful, informational book about why leaves change colors amidst a fun book about jumping in the leaves, something every child loves to do. I read this for my October STEAM Storytime about leaves. Great book. I actually read this via Hoopla. It is great to use with Zoom because I don't have to hold the book so the kids can see it. I just share my screen. It is a free service my library provides. It's Great!

[Sirah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explore the leaves as they change color and fall. This little poem explores a variety of leaf types, describing them in delightful detail.

This poem is wasted on children.

Well, that sounds mean. I would frame this poem and put it on my wall. The wordplay is clever and the rhymes so crisp. I don't think anyone appreciates how much work goes into creating something so precisely and obviously full of fall delight.

[Diana · Rating 3 out of 5]

While probably not the best autumn-themed read-aloud, the illustrations on this one are lovely. I appreciate the variety of leaf types that are represented, and the different autumn colors grouped on a page make it visually appealing. I'm willing to overlook the rather clumsy prose to share these illustrations with my kiddos.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

For the tree identification alone it gets four stars. Oh my gosh. I've always regretted not knowing enough about different trees, always wished I'd learned more as a child. *This* is the first book that I needed. This one makes just a few of the most common (at least in temperate US) familiar and gives the reader the foundation for lifelong learning.

[Jana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming, lyrical text along with lovely hand-colored linoleum-cut illustrations make this a wonderful celebration of autumn's falling leaves. This would be a great book to share with young readers as part of a collection of books about fall.

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Not a storytime pick for my tastes. Perhaps it is just my own bias, but I can't imagine a group of kids being able to pay attention to this. I think it is a good resource for teaching your children how to identify different trees.

[Emily Farquhar · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to introduce the season of fall or at the beginning of a poetry unit. This book is filled with autumn colors and simple facts about why leaves change color in the fall along with a variety of leaves.

F&P: C
AR: 0.6

Six Traits:
Sentence Fluency
Word Choice
Ideas

[KC · Rating 5 out of 5]

A wonderful teaching moment for children to learn about the variety of leaves and from which trees they come from.

[Samantha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this during Circle time overall they liked it. Better for K-3 than preschooler/toddlers. My daughter wanted to know all the leaves and trees and study this book.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love how it describes all the different Fall leaves. Beautiful!

[Hannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent book! Would be great for a nature journal lesson about types of leaves!

[Ethan & Isaac · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love the leaves!

[Katie Merkel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a nice first introduction to different types of leaves.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beautiful way to learn some leaf names. I don’t think there was enough action to keep Elliot engaged though. Will try again later in the fall, maybe.


* Library book. Read at 23 months

[Mari]

I like that it shows different types of leaves with their names

[Diane · Rating 3 out of 5]

The leaves fall as the children celebrate the different colors and styles of leaves that are falling from different trees. Then they rake and jump.

A celebration of fall.

[Mrs Heet -Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great book to show/teach what different leaves look like.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has pretty illumination. It good at teaching you about different leafs.

[Andrea · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun way to learn the names of a few common tree leaves

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an older book that I could only find a digital version of but it has great illustrations! Big pictures with different colored leaves and short text. Used in a fall/leaf storytime.

[Rolf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful art--great way to start discussions about the beauty of the different leaves of the different deciduous trees of the US.

[spookybelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoy the beautiful illustrations, gentle and natural rhyming, and sharing the joy of jumping into a giant leaf pile. I also appreciate the basic leaf IDs (shape and colour). It's a very nice introduction to identification and just enjoying the fall season.

[Richard WSUV · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 2004, this book would be great for students learning about plants and their identification. It would also be a good model for outlines of how to collect information about something in nature.