Maple

by Lori Nichols, Lori Nichols (Illustrator)

Overview

"A nature-loving little girl's favorite playmate is her maple tree, until the day she's surprised with a baby sister"--

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780399160851
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	02/20/2014
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.20(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	AD500L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Lori Nichols (www.lorinichols.com) spent her childhood in northwestern Pennsylvania surrounded by maple trees. As she grew, so did her love of trees and nature. She now lives in Birmingham, Alabama, with her husband and three free-spirited daughters. Many days you can find Lori and her family under their maple tree, eating lunch, playing kickball or just being loud. Maple is her first picture book.

Editorial Reviews

Nichols's depiction of [Maple's] patient attempts to be a good big sister might be just the thing to encourage children in the same predicament to keep at it.

The New York Times Book Review - Sarah Harrison Smith

* “Sweet debut. . . . Free-spirited, bracing sessions of solitary, outdoor fun. . . . Here’s a child’s world, where . . . private reverie recurs as an all-consuming pastime. . . . Maple, sweetly nondescript . . . could easily sit next to any young reader at preschool or day care. Leaf rubbings (from real maple leaves!) dazzle. . . . An arboreal homage perfect for children reveling in alone time or reeling with a new sibling’s arrival.”—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* “Readers will fall in love with Maple. . . . Lush, leafy illustrations. . . . This is a fresh addition to the standard new sibling fare, and young naturalists will identify with Maple’s adventurous and tender spirit.”—School Library Journal, starred review

“The narrator’s voice . . . has its own distinctive, understated humor. . . . An exploration of different kinds of love and different kinds of acceptance.”—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 2013-12-01
A little girl and a tree grow up together in this sweet debut. Maple, named for a sapling planted just before her birth, plays alongside her special tree every day, giving it hugs and watching its foliage flutter. Her free-spirited, bracing sessions of solitary, outdoor fun appear as crisp vignettes on white backgrounds, their sequencing marking the marching passage of time, which stops for moments of reflection. A long, grassy double-page spread appears at spring, showing Maple bent knees to nose over dolls, directing a miniaturized theater production under the tree's canopy. Here's a child's world, where page borders crop out parents' faces and private reverie recurs as an all-consuming pastime, transmuted by Nichols through charmingly plain pencil illustrations and mild digital colors. Maple, sweetly nondescript with her round head, low braids, comfortable dresses and pink cheeks, could easily sit next to any young reader at preschool or day care. Leaf rubbings (from real maple leaves!) dazzle with their sudden crinkles, veins and tart greens and orangy yellows. Another small tree, right next to Maple's, marks the birth of a new sibling (Willow), who soon joins her sister under dancing leaves in this kid's kingdom. An arboreal homage perfect for children reveling in alone time or reeling with a new sibling's arrival. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews