Autumnblings
Douglas FlorianBooks.org participates in affiliate programs including Bookshop.org and the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. We may earn a commission from qualifying purchases made through links on this page, at no additional cost to you.
Overview
Flying kites?
Apple picking?
Trick or treat?
Frisbee flicking?
What do you not like about autumn?
Back to school?
Winds that gust?
Bare trees?
Rains that rust?
This collection of poems and paintings welcomes fall with all the crisp energy of a joyful tumbling run. A companion volume to the highly praised Winter Eyes and Summersaults, Autumnblings proves once again that Douglas Florian is a poet for all seasons.
A collection of poems that portray the essence of the season between summer and winter.
Synopsis
Flying kites?
Apple picking?
Trick or treat?
Frisbee flicking?
What do you not like about autumn?
Back to school?
Winds that gust?
Bare trees?
Rains that rust?
This collection of poems and paintings welcomes fall with all the crisp energy of a joyful tumbling run. A companion volume to the highly praised Winter Eyes and Summersaults, Autumnblings proves once again that Douglas Florian is a poet for all seasons.
Publishers Weekly
Similar to Florian's other seasonal collections, Winter Eyes and Summersaults, the wordplay in this fall bouquet of poems seem slightly worn, while repeated and obvious puns often strain for effect. For example, "What to Do with Autumn Leaves" instructs readers to "leave them"; the same pun recurs in "Symmetree" ("The leaves all leave") and in "Awe-tumn" ("Autumn leaves/ Leave me in awe"). Similarly, the device of seeing the word "fall" displayed as if the letters were falling is less effective, as other poems recycle the same device. Florian's paintings, on the other hand, are fresh and childlike (e.g., the bite taken out of the apple shown for "Apple Picking" looks like a face in profile; a girl literally feels "Decembrrrr's freeze" in a portrait that turns her neck and chin into a thermometer). And at its best ("Naughtumn," for example, describes what happens "as autumn slowly gets winturned"), the wordplay can be as vivid as fall foliage. Ages 5-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Similar to Florian's other seasonal collections, Winter Eyes and Summersaults, the wordplay in this fall bouquet of poems seem slightly worn, while repeated and obvious puns often strain for effect. For example, "What to Do with Autumn Leaves" instructs readers to "leave them"; the same pun recurs in "Symmetree" ("The leaves all leave") and in "Awe-tumn" ("Autumn leaves/ Leave me in awe"). Similarly, the device of seeing the word "fall" displayed as if the letters were falling is less effective, as other poems recycle the same device. Florian's paintings, on the other hand, are fresh and childlike (e.g., the bite taken out of the apple shown for "Apple Picking" looks like a face in profile; a girl literally feels "Decembrrrr's freeze" in a portrait that turns her neck and chin into a thermometer). And at its best ("Naughtumn," for example, describes what happens "as autumn slowly gets winturned"), the wordplay can be as vivid as fall foliage. Ages 5-up. (Aug.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
Florian continues his ode to the seasons in his latest on autumn, Autumnblings. The poems are typical Florian, short and pithy, with lots of fun word play throughout. His "Last Licks" uses the word "last" in such clever ways, which makes for a nice demonstration for children of the importance of word choice in poetry. "Pumpkin Grin" begs to be done chorally, and the examples of concrete poetry are nicely done. Florian's illustrations reflect the hues of autumn and a wonderful childlike sensibility. Finally, one must congratulate him on finding a rhyme for "squirrel" in the poem "Up and Down." Autumnblings makes me eager to see what he will do with the remaining season, spring. 2003, Greenwillow/HarperCollins, Ages 5 to 8.— Joan Kindig, Ph.D.