FICTION

A Year with Mama Earth

by Rebecca Grabill (text) & illus. by Rebecca Green
Eerdmans. Sept. 2019. 40p. Tr $17.99. ISBN 9780802855053.
COPY ISBN
PreS-Gr 2–In this exploration of nature’s cycles, Michigan natives Grabill and Green describe the natural world through the seasonal changes of their home state. Grabill evokes Mama Earth’s bounties in the garden, her idyllic scenery, and her opportunities for play and discovery in lyrical free verse, some of which plays with rhyming elements. While most of the text focuses on plants, animals, and their metamorphoses, Green’s illustrations expand on these themes by incorporating a group of playful children into the mix as they enthusiastically frolic in December’s snow, through March’s maple syrup, and with July’s peeper frogs. The digital illustrations mimic colored pencils and use mostly earth tones.
VERDICT Similar to Julie Fogliano’s When Green Becomes Tomatoes, this poetic celebration of the change of seasons will particularly resonate with those with connections to this region of North America
Reviewed by Clara Hendricks, Cambridge Public Library, MA , Aug 09, 2019

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