Kristi Jemtegaard
Erin Stead understands the power of judiciously applied color and uses repeated dollops…to draw the reader's eye across each double-page panorama…As seeds sprout into plants, so these simple words grow through each carefully detailed scene into a tale filled with the joy of being alive.
—The Washington Post
From the Publisher
Green is what the bespectacled boy in Julie Fogliano's 'And Then It's Spring' eagerly hopes to see as he waits for seeds he has planted to sprout from the brown earth. Did birds eat the seeds? Did bears trample them? In Erin E. Stead's finely drawn illustrations, we see the imagined bears lounging in the seedbeds with a sign that reads: 'Please do not stomp here—there are seeds and they are trying.'” —The Wall Street Journal
“This seemingly real-time experience of getting to green is a droll, wistful ode to the stamina behind wanting, will, and perseverance.” —School Library Journal, Starred
“In an understated and intimate partnership, Fogliano and Stead conjure late winter doldrums and the relief of spring's arrival, well worth the wait.” —Publishers Weekly, Starred
“This sweet seedling will undoubtedly take root and thrive. ” —Kirkus, Starred
“Fogliano's poetic yet grounded narrative is reminiscent of Charlotte Zolotow's picture-book texts in its understatement and straightforward, childlike observations…As for the illustrations, there's no sophomore slump for Stead: her second book is even better than her 2011 Caldecott winner, A Sick Day for Amos McGee (rev. 5/10).” —Horn Book Magazine, Starred
“A first-time author and the Caldecott Award-winning illustrator of A Sick Day for Amos McGee (2011) team up in this beautiful ode to a patient gardener.” —Booklist, Starred
“…a humble yet miraculous world…” —BCCB
