Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Leaf Jumpers
Illustrator: Leslie Evans
Picture Book
For ages 3 to 5
Charlesbridge, 2004 ISBN: 978-1570914973
Every autumn a little bit of magic happens. The leaves on the trees around us start to change colour and, letting go of the trees that have nurtured them, they drift to the ground to form drifts of yellow, gold, brown, and red.
The author introduces her readers to each of the most common tree species, and we are shown through words and pictures how to know which one is which - we are able to see the unique beauty inherent in each yellow, red, and gold leaf; there is the red maple, the sugar maple, the white oak, the basswood, the birch, the willow, the ginkgo, and the sycamore. Perhaps best of all, we see how we can be a part of this great annual leaf falling festival when we let the leaves fall on us, jump in the piles that collect on the ground, and generally celebrate the joys of this season.
Leslie Evans' lovely woodblock and watercolour illustrations are minimal but redolent with the beauty the lies in the shape and colour of every leaf.
