When Green Becomes Tomatoes: Poems for All Seasons

In a contemplative tour of the year, Fogliano and Morstad sensitively yet strongly evoke seasonal experiences like standing at the ocean's edge, anticipating sweater weather, and uncovering acres of mud beneath melting snow. The poems--roughly a dozen per season, and all given dates--range from just a few lines ("just like a tiny, blue hello/ a crocus blooming/ in the snow" for March 22) to longer reflections: the July 10 poem that lends the book its title ("when green becomes tomatoes/ there will be sky/ and sun/ and possibly a cloud or two," it begins) reads like it could have been a standalone companion to Fogliano's If You Want to See a Whale. Working in gouache and pencil, Morstad (Swan) creates an appealing, multiracial cast of children in scarves and swimsuits, pajamas and parkas, while helping highlight the way that small things--a sprouting plant, a falling leaf--can herald big changes. Ages 6-10. Illustrator's agent: Emily Van Beek, Folio Literary Management. (Mar.)

K-Gr 3--This evocative celebration of the four seasons through verse is an essential addition to poetry collections. Fogliano's text marries natural observations with human emotion to create a collection that is quiet but full of powerful feeling. Readers could easily incorporate the journal-like style to chronicle their burgeoning relationship with nature and time. Morstad's watercolor illustrations invoke the changing seasons with gentleness and beauty and invite closer inspection--a perfect complement to the well-crafted poems.

Complementing the poems are Morstad's gouache and pencil crayon illustrations that range from effectively simple (a firefly glowing in the dark) to tantalizingly detailed (spot the inchworm or the ladybug in the shrubs). A multiracial cast of children relishing the delights of the seasons adds to this title's appeal. —Booklist, starred review

"Spreads filled with gentle, watercolor depictions of children experiencing seasonal activities include some surprising details that demand closer perusal and wonderfully complement and extend the text. "—School Library Journal, starred

"This combination of poetry and art in praise of the familiar, natural world is sweetly, successfully dazzling."—Kirkus Reviews, starred

"Working in gouache and pencil, Morstad (Swan) creates an appealing, multiracial cast of children in scarves and swimsuits, pajamas and parkas, while helping highlight the way that small things—a sprouting plant, a falling leaf—can herald big changes."— Publisher's Weekly, starred