Leaf Man

by Lois Ehlert and Ehlert

Book Overview

Ride the wind and drift east with Leaf Man in this autumnal classic by Caldecott Honor-winning author-illustrator Lois Ehlert, perfect for young readers returning to school in the fall.

Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows?

No one's quite sure, but this much...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0152053042
• ISBN13: 9780152053048
• Release Date: September 2005
• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 1.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.4" x 11.2" x 12.1"
• Age Range: 4 to 7 years
• Grade Range: Preschool to Grade 2

Customer Reviews

Simple text enhanced with a big dose of creativity!

My husband bought this for our two-year old, and we love reading it together with her. The text is simple, as it traces the journey of Leaf Man...the leaves used are magnificent in their colors...some bold, some subdued, but all unique and beautiful. I have since done some basic art projects with my daughter using this book as inspiration. We collect leaves wherever we go and hope to create a little book of our own!

Beautiful

One of Lois Ehlert's best. I bought it for my mother-in-law who is a gardener and general nature-lover. But I use it to teach about leaves and using your imagination in my preschool art classes. The children all think it's so much fun. They always finish reading with so many more ideas of their own to get started on.

Wonderful

I checked out this book at my school library yesterday. It was a really beautiful book! Even though I'm eleven years old, I loved it. The illustrations are cleverly created from real photocopies of leaves, and some of the pictures look so real that from far away, they simply look like photos. There are just enough words for perhaps a 4-5 year old to read. The story tells of the travels of Leaf Man, blowing over fields and animals and trees. I really think that the pictures are the main part of the book. 5 stars!

Leaf Man

Great Fall book. Illustrations are beautiful, typical of Lois Ehlert books! Kids love the different creatures formed by leaves in this book. It's a wonderful book to use as a literary base for writing and fall art projects.

What fun! So much to see!

This book is getting good reviews for good reason. Lois Ehlert uses images of actual autumn leaves to tell a simple story. And yet, it's not that simple. In each colorful double-page spread, the leaves are arranged in order to form figures: a man, barnyard animals, farm crops, etc., whatever supports the text. As we advance through the story, we realize something different about the book. The top edges of the pages aren't cut straight; they swoop to become horizon lines that change with each page turn, simulating the colorful rolling hills of autumn. What a wonderful surprise! Who would have thought of that technique? It's perfect for the story. The leaves are close at hand, and yet your eye catches the distant landscape, just as it might in real life. What I like most about this book is that it is educational in a subtle way. It doesn't scream, "Here are leaf projects for you to try!" It merely tells a story using leaves, and lets the readers become inspired to gather up and create leaf creatures of their own. In other words, teaching and leading by example. On the end-sheet of the front and back covers, sample leaves are each identified by tree name -- again, with subtlety. If you want to know the names of the trees they came from, fine, there they are. If you are too young (or too old!) to care, then the words do not intrude on your view of the leaves or the enjoyment of the book. I can see that reading this book to a group of observant youngsters would take quite a while. There's so much to see, and you might not catch it all the first time through. "Leaf Man" requires multiple readings. This is a beautiful, educational picture book that will appeal to all ages. It should be mandatory for nature center libraries and elementary school libraries.