The Little Crooked Bookshelf

And Then It's Spring
by Julie Fogliano
illustrated by Erin E. Stead

This week's pick is by Cottager Anika Denise

What it's all about . . .
Following a snow-filled winter (sound familiar?) a young boy and his dog resolve to plant a garden. They dig, they plant, they wait. Brown turns to a more hopeful shade of brown… and then at last, to green.

Why it's on The Little Crooked Bookshelf . . .
It's not easy for kids to wait… for anything. Fogliano's gentle text and Stead's elegantly balanced spreads perfectly and poetically capture anticipation for the first few sprouts of green poking hopefully up from the dirt.

Our favorite lines . . .

"and then the brown,

still brown,

has a greenish hum

that you can only hear

if you put your ear to the ground

and close your eyes"

Our favorite illustrations…

Why kids will love it . . .
The book is quiet, but lovely. It whispers gently in a child's ear: Watch. Listen. Spring is coming. 

Why grown-ups will love it . . .

And Then It's Spring feels like the first mild breeze after of a long snowy winter. Sun peeking out from the clouds; the little boy in his yellow rain jacket and red umbrella; the ground turning from brown to green, reminds us that even the most seemingly endless winter will end. And that hope springs eternal.