A Leaf Can Be ... a review

Salas, Laura Purdie. 2012. A Leaf Can Be ... . Illustrated by Violeta Dabija. Minneapolis: Millbrook.
Advance Reader Copy supplied by NetGalley.

What's better than a beautifully illustrated nonfiction picture book? One that can be used to delight preschoolers, introduce poetry, or present science concepts. A Leaf Can Be... does it all.

Introductory stanzas give way to descriptive phrases of a leaf's many uses and manifestations,

A leaf is a leaf -
a bit of a tree.
But when cool days come chasing,
it also can be a ...

Wind rider
Lake glider
Pile grower
Hill grow-er

The font is simple and pleasing, like printing with a fine point gel pen.

The illustrations, depicting each thing that "a leaf can be," are nothing less than enchanting.  Blue is the color that anchors this journey through seasons and  locales - posing as the sky, a lake, a hint of frost, the rainwater gathered in the palm of a leaf. Though whimsically drawn, the trees, people and animals in Dabija's paintings are rendered in the colors of nature - not the muted colors of nature, but nature in its most vibrant, most spectacular displays. Her use of "speckling" gives each illustration a hint of magic or fancy.

Also included are:

• "Glossary"
• "Further Reading."
• "More About Leaves," in which each descriptive tree phrase used throughout the book is explained, 

Mouth filler - leaves can be tasty!  Apes, giraffes, insects and many other animals eat leaves.  Humans do too.  Have you eaten lettuce or spinach lately?

Highly recommended. It's early in the year, but I think this will be a favorite!

Manufactured in the United States of America.



Check Laura Purdie Salas' site for a teaching guide and bookmarks, coming soon.

Due on shelves March 1, 2012. (You can request it now on NetGalley from Lerner Publishing.  Don't read this one on a black and white reader!)

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Gathering Books

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Prose and Kahn
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NC Teacher Stuff
Archimedes Notebook
Hope is the Word
Jean Little Library
Anantomy of Nonfiction
Wrapped in Foil
The Fourth Musketeer
Geo Librarian
Check it Out
Apples with Many Seeds
Better with a Book
100 Scope Notes
Nonfiction Book Blast

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