Fall is for School

May 15, 2017
Two siblings face off in another battle of the seasons in this banter-filled companion to Winter Is for Snow. This time, the girl sings the praises of fall (and school), while her older brother laments the end of summer. The girl’s unflagging enthusiasm (“Fall is time for school!”) is dismissed by the boy (“That really is uncool”), and their debate again unfolds through Neubecker’s color-coordinated verse, which channels the energy of a poetry slam. For every school-related complaint lodged by the boy, his sister has a reality-disrupting example of all the knowledge that’s in store for them: in one spread, “dinosaurs and carnivores” parade down the street, startling passersby, and in another, a rocket ship careens across the night sky. Regardless of seasonal (or scholastic) loyalties, siblings who don’t always see eye to eye will be able to relate to this duo’s back-and-forth. Ages 3–5. Agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt.

June 1, 2017
The same brother-sister duo from Winter is for Snow (2013) this time looks at fall's big marker: the start of school.Whereas the brother was the cheerleader for winter, now it's the sister talking up all the pros about school--learning about Romans, pyramids, mummies, and prehistoric beasts; recess; studying math; music and art classes; reading and writing stories--while the brother finds only the negatives. Until she starts to talk about the pumpkin drop, that is, and finally gets him to change his mind about school. This outing suffers from some of the same flaws as the first: the rhyming verses are bland and sometimes misfire, the boy's change of heart is rather sudden, and this is still more of a list than a story. In addition, readers may wonder how this boy's "baby" sister knows so much about going to school--down to the subjects studied and the special activities they will do--especially since she seems to be pretty advanced with regard to vocabulary and subjects she is familiar with (she is wearing a backpack of her own, so maybe both are returning to school, not starting?). Neubecker's illustrations show the small girl pontificating while leading her brother to school through the city, her imagined scenes taking up large swaths of the spreads. Both are white redheads. Her verses are in red, while his responses are in blue. Neubecker should have called it quits after his amazing Wow! School! (2007).

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August 1, 2017

K-Gr 2-"Fall is for school!" a jubilant girl shouts while her older brother mourns the loss of summer vacation. The boy whines that school is uncool and too hard, it's full of teachers and homework. But his sister extols the virtues of nice teachers, fascinating projects, recess, and Halloween parties. Eventually, the boy changes his tune as his sister exclaims, with grown-up wisdom, "We'll learn, and we'll be clever./A great big world will open up/and change our lives forever." The full-bleed digital illustrations are full to bursting with fall colors, as well as an accumulating collection of things the siblings will learn about, from Abraham Lincoln to rocket ships. Chantlike rhyming text bounces between the sister's speech printed in shades of red and pink and her brother's words in blues. Often the rhyme scheme feels forced, especially when pushing the message that only kids who go to school can learn to do things right. Although this title seems to target a younger audience who are learning their numbers and how to read and write, the characters speak of multiplication, ancient Egypt and Rome, and engineering. Readers may wonder why a younger sibling is telling her older brother what to expect at school, as if he's never been. VERDICT This cheery (rah! rah!) back-to-school selection is a colorful addition for school and public libraries.-Amy Seto Forrester, Denver Public Library

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