Fletcher and the Falling Leaves: A Fall Book for Kids

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Having spent the last 8+ years on a tropical island, I can understand how someone who has never seen the fall might be confused.

This is a sweet story and while our girls aren't as naive as Fletcher, this is their first Fall and it will be their first Winter season (in a location that gets cold and snowy, that is! Fletcher and the Falling Leaves” is a cute story about the beauty of changes in weather that I am sure that many children who are interested in knowing what happens to the trees during winter and autumn will easily enjoy for many years!My three-year-old son didn't mind this story (especially since he's into foxes at the moment) and he loved the picture of the sparkly tree. Fletcher And The Falling Leaves features cozy artwork, introducing readers to a curious fox named Fletcher whose looking to protect his favorite tree as the seasons change and the leaves begin to fall. All in all, “Fletcher and the Falling Leaves” is a cute little story about the beauty of changes in the weather that I think many children who also love trees will enjoy for many years to come! I adore the pastel created illustrations; they’re the kind I can see in my mind and would love to be able to create, but can’t get down on paper the way I’d like. The picture book was introducing a lot of themes here from the melancholy of Fletcher's feelings to the grief of his favorite tree changing to only being able to hold onto just a few leaves, seeing animals take the falling leaves leaving him with a sense of worry and much more.

The image I really loved the most was the final image where the tree is covered in icicles during winter and the icicles are covered with glitter which truly makes the image look beautiful and mesmerizing. This picture book beautifully introduces the concept of the changing seasons and the minimal, lyrical text illustrates the atmosphere of the transition from fall to winter. Determined to do something about it, he soon discovered that it was impossible, either to prevent the tree from shedding its leaves, or to reattach them, once they had fallen. When I had my children I started writing stories for picture books, and my first book, Fred and the Little Egg, was published in 2005.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves” is a children’s book by Julia Rawlinson along with illustrations by Tiphanie Beek and it is about a young fox named Fletcher who tries to save a tree’s leaves from falling off during autumn and winter.

I am actually writing a review of this picture book because I saw that it was published in Great Britain as "Ferdie and the Falling Leaves," and as an American I am horribly offended that we couldn't be trusted with a fox named Ferdie. Since then I have written lots of stories about rabbits, bears, mules, dragons, hedgehogs, squirrels, mice, a kind-hearted but easily confused fox. Originally published in Britain as Ferdie and the Falling Leaves (and subsequently published by Scholastic, for the American school-market, as The Fox and the Falling Leaves), this delightful autumn picture-book follows the story of a young fox, and his somewhat less-than-graceful adjustment to the changing of the seasons. I know some cultures have a more hands-off parenting style, but this doesn't seem intentional in that way to me; it seems neglectful.This went over very well on Saturday, when there were more preschoolers and kindergartners, and I enjoyed sharing it. Overall, this book has gorgeous artwork that illustrates the changing seasons and tells a very heartfelt story.

This book was selected as one of the October 2011 - Autumn and Halloween reads at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads. I love the way that Julia Rawlinson makes Fletcher into such a cute and determined character and what I really loved about Fletcher was how he did not understand about how it is natural for leaves to fall off the trees during winter and autumn but it made him into a caring and determined character which many children will definitely relate to Fletcher’s predicament as I am pretty sure that some small children wondered about what happens to the leaves on the trees during winter and autumn just like little Fletcher here!Her other recent works include Sweet Dreaming, illustrated by Nicola Wong (Sourcebooks), Dragon's Lost Roar, illustrated by Beccy Blake (Franklin Watts) and Mule School, illustrated by Lynne Chapman (Gullane Children's Books).