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!