Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring! ~ Picture Book & KID KANDY

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring!
By Marion Dane Bauer
Illustrated by John Shelley
(Holiday House, 2015)

I know it's a little bit late for the crinkle crackle of spring, especially in the northwest where we did not have much crinkling or crackling this winter, but I couldn't help it. I just found this great NEW picture book about spring and I had to share it. It is after all, still spring for another 2 months or so.

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring! is a wonderfully illustrated picture book with an imaginative child finding out what Bear is talking about when he says, "Come. It is time."

A child wakes to the sounds of crinkle, crackle, CRACK. This child then goes to the door where Bear is spotted in the middle of the yard. As the two walk through the woods (I'm not sure where the parents are, and perhaps this would be a good time to talk about leaving the house alone in the middle of the night), other animals join the walk saying the same thing, "It is time."

Time for what? Loosely interpreted, it is time for spring to burst forth with glorious flowers, insects, birds, animals, and green. The child and the animals witness the crinkle, crackle, CRACK explosion of the spring egg. (Really, a giant egg explodes, wiping out all of the muddy, icy, snowy evidences of a cold winter.)

Crinkle, Crackle, CRACK It's Spring! provides vocabulary and opportunities to discuss the changing of the seasons.

KID KANDY:

Compare Two Seasons

Just for fun, divide a large paper or chalkboard in half. Print winter on one side, spring on the other.

~ Think back to winter, maybe as far back as January. What did you see, hear, feel, touch (and maybe taste)? List what you remember under winter.

- ice, mud, snow, no leaves, no flowers, snowflakes, frost, cold air, crows

~ Jump forward to spring. How did you know it was spring? What did you see, hear, feel, touch (and maybe taste)? List those things under spring.

- daffodils, tree buds, mud, rain, warm air, asparagus, bees, grass, birds


~ Compare the two seasons. Which is your favorite? Why?

Go outside and play in the spring weather!

Chickens Aren't the Only Ones - Picture Book & KID KANDY

Chickens Aren't the Only Ones
By Ruth Heller
(Grosset & Dunlap, 1981)

Chickens Aren't the Only Ones is the perfect book for spring. I love to use it at Easter as well, since Heller talks about Easter eggs in a section of the book.

Chickens Aren't the Only Ones is a wonderfully illustrated book about who comes from eggs. All sorts of animals, land, water, and sky travelers, grace the pages of loose rhyme. Heller has captured the imagination of readers who think eggs are only allowed to be oval-shaped. Which is not true!

This book, full of nature and scientific info (but shared in a fun way) is a great book for those nature lovers and inquisitive minds that you know. Learn a little, love a little. Read Chickens Aren't the Only Ones.

KID KANDY:

Spring is Egg Time!

~ Go for a walk at a local pond. Look for nests with eggs or ducklings or goslings swimming along behind mom and dad. Discuss the egg connection.

~ Get out the magnifying glasses. Search your yard (under leaves and rocks) for eggs of any type or size. Guess who will come out when the eggs hatch. Check out an insect identification book to help ID the eggs.

~ Continue the conversation in the car or on walks. Let your child list animals and put them into groups of eggs - yes or no? The discussion of egg laying creatures (oviparous animals) will naturally lead into talking about mammals who do not lay eggs. (Heller shows the two exceptions of mammals that lay eggs.)

~ Dig out the toy animals your child has at the bottom of the toy box. Sort by group - eggs or not.


Science and nature are amazing. Spring is the perfect time to notice new life. Get out there and get going!

Angie Quantrell loves to identify different eggs. She is very happy when she finds the foamy egg masses of praying mantis' and the tiny yellow eggs of ladybugs in her garden.

Everything Spring - Picture Book & KID KANDY

Everything Spring
Written by Jill Esbaum
(National Geographic Society and Scholastic Inc., 2010)

Think spring!

Spring has arrived early in the northwest. It's been so warm that fruit trees, bulbs, flowers, bushes and animals are about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. Nest building, buds, flowers, bugs, babies, and all sorts of spring signs are in great evidence.

Everything Spring is a beautifully photographed book about spring. As I look out the windows and walk through the mild air, I have been reminded how much I enjoy spring.

The senses are very much involved in Everything Spring. "Spring tiptoes in, . . . earthy smells, . . ., color." Just reading the book makes me want to get outside and search for those signs of new life, big and small.

Children will love and identify with the many signs of spring found in this non-fiction picture book. Welcome spring by reading about the season and then exploring nature.

KID KANDY:

Go for a spring nature walk.

1. Choose a nearby park or wooded area. Walk slowly, noticing all the signs of spring you see.

2. Record your observations. Use a journal and pencils or a camera.

3. Sit a few minutes in silence. What do you see? Hear? Smell? Close your eyes and see how much better you can hear and smell.

4. Tell a friend what you saw and learned.

5. Go back to the same spot every season. Compare the seasonal differences in what you see, feel, smell, and hear.

Nature is pretty amazing!

Angie Quantrell loves living in the Pacific Northwest where four seasons makes for an abundance of beauty. You can find her enjoying the outdoors of her backyard, neighborhood, and lots of other nature areas.