All Year Round

July 20, 2015
In a dreamy outing, a boy with a smiling mouth, oblong face, and eyes squinted in delight revels in the changing sounds, sights, and tastes of the seasons in brief poems for each month of the year. In May, he peers from behind a cluster of pink grass to greet a yellow butterfly:
“I say hello to the butterfly, and he tells me his secret./ He has tasted the sweetness of dew./ I wish I could, too.” In October, the boy dresses up as a clown and hugs a grinning jack-o’-lantern: “And, boo!/ With my little red nose/ I am a magic clown.” Leduc’s fluid color pencil images are bathed in a muted, milky light that, along with the expressive observations within the poems, suggests a child’s growing sense of awareness of his surroundings. Ages 2–5.

July 1, 2015
A celebration of the joys brought by each month of the year as seen through the eyes of a young child. From January through December, there is always something to love. January is for tromping through the forest, February for drinking hot chocolate, March for blowing out birthday candles, June for zooming in a race car, and October for hiding behind a pumpkin. A delightfully depicted chubby-cheeked boy and his faithful cat enjoy it all, pictures both providing additional details and developing an ebullient mood. Each month is celebrated in a two-page spread, charmingly illustrated in color pencils on Mylar paper with a resulting soft and somewhat blurry feel. In January, the child wears a red snowsuit with blue hat and mittens, happily snowshoeing while his cat watches from the window; in June, he pedals a tricycle (his "little race car") as the cat follows behind; in December, he's back in his snowsuit for some skating, and his cat poses with the hat over her face. Originally published in French, the terse, poetic text evokes the different months in language a young child can easily relate to: in July, "I am so light I can fly, but I have no wings! / The water tickles my hair. / I swim upside down, my toes in the air."Joyful and sweet. (Picture book. 2-5)

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October 1, 2015

PreS-K-Tromping through the snow in January and ending in the winter white of December, Leduc's All Year Round is one boy's poetic frolic through the seasons. The color pencil illustrations drawn on Mylar paper are soft, whimsical, and stunning. In this calendar of joy, each month's page ends with the refrain "I love the month of ___," followed by the reason it deserves celebration. This lovely little book will inspire enthusiasm for nature and encourage kids to notice small details. This would be a great title to add to use to introduce the months, the seasons, or a unit on poetry. VERDICT With rich vocabulary and dynamic illustrations, this quaint title is exquisite.-Kaitlin Connors, Virginia Beach Public Library

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