Busy Spring: Nature Wakes Up

Busy Spring: Nature Wakes Up

By Author / Illustrator

Sean Taylor, Alex Morss, Cinyee Chiu

Genre

Environment

Age range(s)

5+

Publisher

Aurum Press

ISBN

9780711255371

Format

Hardback

Published

16-03-2021

Synopsis

After a long sleepy winter, the trees, flowers and animals are getting ready for a busy spring. Discover all the different ways nature wakes up when spring arrives in this fresh and fun story of a family exploring their garden.


With further non-fiction information about animals and plants at the back, this picture book is the perfect introduction to the science behind spring.

Reviews

Kyle

Busy Spring: Nature Wakes Up is a fine example of both a fiction and non fiction book rolled into one.

Centred around a young girl, her dad and younger sister, the reader is taken on a journey that explores the world in the their back garden and introduced to the concept of Spring.

Sean Taylor and Alex Morss have written from the point of view of the unnamed girl so you automatically feel connected to the text as you read her thoughts and speech directly. Many young readers will also relate to the family experience of spending a day exploring the natural world around us.

The inquisitive minds of the young girls prompt lots of questions towards dad which allows for the subtle non fiction nature of the book to come to the forefront. Introducing the girls (and the readers) to the ideas of life cycles, habitats and pollination to name but a few is done naturally and without disturbing the flow of the narrative.  More detailed information regarding spring and wildlife within this season can then be found at the back of the book, which acts a nice bonus to further stimulate curious readers who want to learn more. 


I tested this book out with my four-year-old and he enjoyed the factual elements within the narrative. He also enjoyed spotting the detail within Cinyee Chiu's fabulous illustrations which perfectly compliment the text.  I really enjoyed the idea of spring being nature's alarm clock and used this message when out on a walk with my son after reading this text. It allowed us to focus on what we could see and hear "waking up" in the spring sunshine. This made me think that this text could be the perfect companion to EYFS and KS1 classrooms, particularly when focused on science curriculum areas.

Overall, a really enjoyable and informative text which I will be adding to my classroom library for the second spring term.

Picture book / Reviewed by Kyle Matravers, teacher

Suggested Reading Age 3+

 

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