The Nut That Fell from the Tree

Written by Sangeeta Bhadra

Illustrated by France Cormier

Kids Can Press

978-1-5253-0119-3

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2020

For a repeating pattern book with a lesson in the interrelationships of living things and an oak tree's life cycle, The Nut That Fell from the Tree has it all with a round of fun too!

From The Nut That Fell from the Tree by Sangeeta Bhadra, illus. by France Cormier

It all starts with a tree house in an oak tree where Jill plays. From the oak tree falls an acorn that is stolen by a rat. Next the nut is taken by a blue jay, a goose, a raccoon, a doe with her fawn, a bear and a skunk before it falls into the water and is retrieved by a beaver before being buried in the ground by a squirrel to germinate and grow.

From The Nut That Fell from the Tree by Sangeeta Bhadra, illus. by France Cormier

Years later that little acorn has grown into a mighty oak that holds the house where Jack plays in the yard of the elderly Jill who still dons her red cape for play.

From The Nut That Fell from the Tree by Sangeeta Bhadra, illus. by France Cormier

Kids love a repeating pattern book like The Nut That Fell from the Tree (that reads very much like The House That Jack Built) because even if they can't read, they can anticipate the repeating lines, like...

This is the doe with her fawn (peek-a-boo)

that surprised the raccoon (a sneak through and through)

that tricked the goose with a bird's-eye view

that ruffled the jay with feathers of blue

that swooped in on the rat looking out from a shoe

that stole the nut

that fell from the oak

that holds the house where Jill plays.

They'll be sitting on the edges of their seats knowing that something different will happen on each new page but never knowing what until it happens. Sangeeta Bhadra gets the rhythm right, with some rhyming too, and carries messages of the richness of an ecosystem of land and water and living things with the wonder of a nut growing into a tree.

This is the squirrel

that buried the nut

that lay on the hill

that shone in the light

that came from the sun.

In fact, Sangeeta Bhadra changes the pattern from the acorn being passed around to the nut beginning its own cycle, life cycle that is, so effortlessly that it flows right back to the beginning, with an inter-generational link to make it come full circle.

That flow is carried by the artwork of France Cormier who has illustrated many children's books, including many French-language picture books. Though I have never had the pleasure of reviewing one of her books, I hope this review changes that and gets young readers looking for her artwork. Here her digitally rendered art has the playful feel that is needed to carry the patterns of Sangeeta Bhadra's words, pulling the text forward and around with her snappy scenes of plants and animals interacting in vibrant panoramas.

From The Nut That Fell from the Tree by Sangeeta Bhadra, illus. by France Cormier

What is The Nut That Fell from the Tree?

It's the book

that will be purchased by the adult

that will be enjoyed by the child 

that will be shared with a friend

that will be read aloud

that will teach STEM with charm

that melds rhythm with art

that comes full circle to

The Nut That Fell from the Tree.

Leap!

Written by JonArno Lawson

Illustrated by Josée Bisaillon

Kids Can Press

978-1-77138-678-4

32 pp.

Ages 3-7

September 2017

In a chain of events that begins with a flea, a series of animals that also includes a grasshopper, a rabbit, a dog, fish, a bullfrog and a horse cause leaping into, onto, and more in response.  But JonArno Lawson, whose stories Sidewalk Flowers (Groundwood, 2015) and Uncle Holland (Groundwood, 2017) have been reviewed here on CanLit for LittleCanadians, goes beyond this faunal domino effect and creates a living organism of movement in sophisticated poetry.

From Leap! 

by JonArno Lawson 

illus. by Josée Bisaillon

With each new LEAP!, JonArno Lawson plunges the young reader into a new environment with active vocabulary and emotional responses. 

LEAP!
Land!
Twist and spin!
The bunny bounds out
as the clouds roll in.
A dog gets a whiff
and barks at the wind –
bouncing, bouncing, springing
  and lunging!
Down the bank that dog goes
  plunging.
Gambol, lurch to 

LEAP!

In her signature collage style of cut-outs, watercolours, pencils and more, Josée Bisaillon produces multiple land and aquatic landscapes for JonArno Lawson's jumping, splashing, bounding creatures.  There are microcosms beneath bright flowers in cheery meadows and lakes filled with dozens of species of plant and fish, and a fenced farmyard with trees. From one to another to the next and back, Josée Bisaillon takes the reader down and over, under and above, seeing this natural world from all perspectives.

From Leap!

by JonArno Lawson 

illus. by Josée Bisaillon

For teachers who love a circular story that ends where it begins, Leap! is a treat, especially for the exquisite language and elaborate illustrations.  But I believe parents will find Leap! to be the perfect bedtime read for young ones who've been doing their own leaping all day.  In true poetic style, JonArno Lawson finds the word that rhymes with "leap" and brings closure to a day of activity.

From Leap! 

by JonArno Lawson 

illus. by Josée Bisaillon