by: Nancy Elizabeth Wallace

At first glance this picture book seems fairly simple. The illustrations are colorful but nothing fantastic. However, as I read this book I discovered that there is quite a bit of information tucked into this little book.

The story details a mother bear and son going on a leaf walk during all four seasons. Through this journey the little bear learns about the life cycle of a leaf including buds in the spring, the process of photosynthesis, the anatomy of a leaf and finally the eventual end of the leaf and the tree's hibernation. There is a really well done diagram at the end of the book that lists the different functions of the tree and its processes. It also includes a number of important vocabulary terms.

This book fit really well into our leaf unit from Jeannie Fulbright's Botany book. We recognized some of the same vocabulary and were able to fill in some terms this book left out. (My boys loved doing that!) It was a great supplement to our science 'text' because it had loads of information but looked like a fun picture book. All 3 of my boys enjoyed it-- esp. the silly jokes at the end of each season. This is a sweet yet informative book that will hold the attention of younger as well as older students.