Happy Springtime!

by Kate McMullan, Sujean Rim (Illustrator)

Overview

When winter is at its coldest and darkest, take heart! Every day the sun shines longer, Spring is on its way!

All winter, the days grow a little bit longer,
The nights grow a little bit shorter,
until the day becomes exactly as long as the night.
On that day we say...
HAPPY SPRINGTIME!

This bright, bouncy, and deliriously colorful picture book is an ode to the joys of spring, encouraging everyone who waits out the slow lengthening of days through the end of winter. From earmuffed crossing guards to sweater wearing dogs, from painters of flowers to planters of seeds, Happy Springtime! celebrates the burst of life following the thaw of winter.

Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honoree Kate McMullan's jubilant love-letter to this exciting time of year is the perfect book to bring in the season of birth and renewal, especially when accompanied by the riotous watercolor illustrations of Sujean Rim.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780823445516
Publisher:	Holiday House
Publication date:	03/02/2021
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,118,296
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.20(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Kate McMullan has collaborated with her husband Jim on many popular picture books, including I'm Brave!, I'm Fast!, I'm Big!, I'm Bad!, I'm Dirty!, and I Stink!, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book and Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Honor Book. She is also the author of As Warm as the Sun, the Geisel Honor Book Pearl and Wagner: One Funny Day, and the middle grade series Dragon Slayers' Academy and Myth-o-Mania, the Greek myths as told by Hades. She lives in New York City.

Sujean Rim is best known for her signature watercolor designs. Originally a shoe and accessory designer, Sujean has gone on to illustrate numerous picture books including Zoogie Boogie Fever! and the Birdie series. She lives with her husband in Westchester, New York.

Editorial Reviews

★ "Rim’s watercolor, pencil, crayon, and collage illustrations are lush and fluid like snow melting into the new growth taking its place. These blend beautifully with McMullan’s springtime celebration, warming the fingers, toes, and hearts of readers. . . . A warm and welcomed addition to collections about the changing of seasons.”—School Library Journal, Starred Review

"An effervescent tribute to spring, this vibrant picture book is sure to please all those who delight in the season."—Booklist

"Take heed, all who suffer from the bleak, snowy winter doldrums: Marvelous changes are at hand. . . . Effervescent and life affirming; a magical ode to a joyful time." —Kirkus Reviews

"[T]his picture book will be welcome all year round and next year, too."—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

02/26/2021

PreS-Gr 2—The frosty blues of a bitter winter morning requiring stubborn snowsuits and chunky hats and mittens. Robins peck at forgotten icy berries in the snow. Dogs parade the streets in knitted sweaters and snug boots. For pandemic-weary readers or just those who have had enough winter, McMullan has a message: "Do not lose heart!" Frigid winter nights eventually shorten; days become longer; winter thaws into the comforts of spring. A diverse group of children frolic together in parks, birds build nests to welcome new babies, and sleepy seedlings stretch from their soil beds. Scarves and snow boots are swapped for umbrellas and rain boots needed for dancing in the rain and puddle jumping. Rim's watercolor, pencil, crayon, and collage illustrations are lush and fluid like snow melting into the new growth taking its place. These blend beautifully with McMullan's springtime celebration, warming the fingers, toes, and hearts of readers. This book pairs perfectly with the colorful scenes in Buffy Silverman's On a Snow-Melting Day for story time or a preschool lesson. VERDICT A warm and welcomed addition to collections about the changing of seasons.—Emily Brush, Novi P.L., MI

School Library Journal

2021-01-27
Hooray! The season of renewal is here.

Take heed, all who suffer from the bleak, snowy winter doldrums: Marvelous changes are at hand. The hours of daylight expand; new colors, smells, and sounds burst forth everywhere; animals of all sorts are born and revel; plants regenerate; and outdoor activities both wet and dry encourage eager participation. “Rejoice in the rain you walkers with colorful umbrellas, you puddle jumpers, you small brown birds splashing on sidewalks, you lovers of mud.” This lovely tribute to the renewal of life and possibilities and the promise of fresh new beginnings is the perfect introduction for young children to the magical renaissance that follows each year’s icy darkness. The narrative zings with exuberance. Though not written in verse, the gently rhythmic text is almost poetic and reads beautifully thanks to its liberal use throughout of well-chosen alliterative and assonant words and phrases, demanding that this book be read aloud. Children will appreciate the frequent reminders that “The days are growing longer!” An easily comprehensible scientific explanation helps convey facts about the spring equinox and the beginning of summer (though that season isn’t named), and very little kids get the opportunity to practice some simple counting, too. Cheery illustrations are rendered in watercolor, ink, pencil, and collage, and pages are awash with gorgeous color and ebullience—like spring itself. Spreads show humans and animals engaging in various activities, and people depicted show diversity.

Effervescent and life affirming; a magical ode to a joyful time. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews