Zoe Hall

Fall Leaves Fall is a simple short story (narrative) about two boys who notice that the leaves change color from summer to fall. It talks about how leaves change from green to red, orange, and yellow and when the wind makes them fall to the ground we need to rake them up. Part way through the book it shows different types of leaves including maple, oak, beech, sassafras, ginkgo, some of which I have not heard of myself. This book is a great way to introduce fall to your students and talk about the different leaves they see and learn more about them. I would use this to question if kids know these trees and then do some research on them together in class. At the end of the book, it also shows a scientific explanation of how the leaves grow through the year, starting with buds on a branch in spring to winter when all of the leaves have fallen off. I think that this book is a great way to integrate science talk into a reading/writing lesson. Especially in times online when we don’t have specified synchronous science lessons.… (more)

A group of youngsters plant a 'surprise garden' in this picture-book from author Zoe Hall and illustrator Shari Halpern, waiting to see what will grow from the unknown seeds they have sown. Each plant that flowers and then produces a vegetable is a surprise, and in the end they enjoy the bounty of their garden, having a surprise garden party...

Hall and Halpern produced four picture-books together, three of which - It's Pumpkin Time!, The Apple Pie Tree and Fall Leaves Fall - had an autumn theme. The Surprise Garden, which is the fourth and final book from this team that I have picked up, has more of a spring and summer theme. It pairs a simple text with bright, collage-style artwork, and includes a brief afterword showing which vegetable came from which seed. Although not my favorite, of the Hall and Halpern books - that honor goes to the lovely The Apple Pie Tree - this was engaging, and is one I would recommend to picture-book readers looking for stories about gardening, and eating the produce of a garden.… (more)