Children - Fiction & Literature

Leaf Man

Name: Leaf Man
Author: Lois Ehlert
ISBN: 9780152053048

by Lois Ehlert

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Overview

Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one's quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.

With illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas, here is a playful, whimsical, and evocative book that celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children.

Includes an author's note and leaf-identifying labels.

A man made of leaves blows away, traveling wherever the wind may take him.

Synopsis

Come along on a journey with a man made of leaves.

Child Magazine

Celebrate nature with the story of Leaf Man, a protagonist ingeniously crafted from acorns for eyes and a strategically arranged pile of real autumn leaves for his body. When Leaf Man disappears in the wind one day, readers follow his trail "past the chickens, toward the marsh, over the ducks and geese," which are all amazingly configured from leaf collages too. A fall foliage tour geared to little ones, this journey will open kids' eyes to the magic to be found in the natural world. (ages 4 to 6)
Child magazine's Best Children's Book Awards 2005

About the Author, Lois Ehlert

LOIS EHLERT has created many picture books, including Pie in the Sky, In My World, Growing Vegetable Soup, Planting a Rainbow, and the bestselling Waiting for Wings. She lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

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Editorials

From The Critics

Publishers Weekly

Ehlert (Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf) returns to one of her favorite themes-the rainbow beauty of autumn leaves-for this refreshing riff on leaf peeping and collecting. A narrator recalls the Leaf Man that used to live nearby but recently blew away with the wind. "He left no travel plans." From that breezy beginning, the narrator imagines the different flight patterns the Leaf Man may have followed "past the chickens, toward the marsh,... over the prairie meadows,... past the spotted cows," and punctuates the lyrical text with an occasional refrain ( "a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows"). All the while, Ehlert sparks her foliage flight of fancy with her snazzy leaf collages. Fiery maple, brown mottled catalpa and bright yellow ginko leaves take the shape of various animals and objects on each spread. The boldly colored background papers, of varying texture, make the leaves pop. And, in the type of clever book design for which Ehlert is known, the pages are die-cut and/or patchworked at the top to create a rolling, flowing effect throughout. Endpapers serve as a labeled field guide to leaf varieties and an author's note expresses Ehlert's passion for her subject, and describes her art technique. After this visual feast, young nature lovers are sure to look with fresh eyes as they walk through the woods. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

Leaf Man introduces a natural kind of guy, with acorn eyes and a maple-leaf head. One brisk day, Leaf Man decides to lift off from his yard home and fly wherever the wind takes him, over orchards, meadows and lakes. What might he see? A squirrel, fish, butterflies and birds—all made of leaves. Acclaimed author/illustrator Lois Ehlert brings to life an amazing world in this innovative picture. The minimalist text invites children to imagine the wanderings of Leaf Man, and the stunning artwork may inspire them to create their own characters from leaves and other natural materials. 2005, Harcourt, Ages 1 to 4.
—Mary Quattlebaum

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 3-Ehlert combines vivid collage artwork, effulgent colors, and an inventive design to create an eye-catching picture book. With a body made of fallen leaves and acorns for eyes, Leaf Man takes off from a backyard and flutters away on the breeze, meandering past animals, over fields of fall vegetables, above waterways, and across prairie meadows. The text suggests a range of possible destinations, along with the refrain, "Well, a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows." Finally, readers are encouraged to listen for "a rustle in the leaves" and maybe find a Leaf Man of their own to take home. From ducks to pumpkins to fish, all of the objects described are fashioned out of life-size leaves of various shapes, sizes, and hues and set against backgrounds of textured paper. The die-cut pages curve and bend across the top edge, suggesting undulating mountains set against a sky-blue backdrop. The various leaves and seeds are identified on the endpapers. While the story is simple, the artwork is dazzling, and the book's concept will inspire nature walks, art projects, and curiosity about the changing seasons.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Ehlert's vision and invention do not fail in this clever look at leaves in all their fall glory. "A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows" is the refrain, beginning with a recumbent figure made of leaves, with acorns for eyes and a sweet-gum mouth. Ehlert makes all of these marvelous pictures with color photocopies of leaves: the chickens, the fields of pumpkins and squash, the cows and the fish in the lakes that Leaf Man passes over. She further enhances the textured-and-painted-paper background by die-cut edges on the tops of most of the oversized double-paged spreads featuring scalloped rolling hills, pinked sheared meadows and curved rivers. Leaf Man makes his journey, ending in a tumble of leaves with potential for another figure. Beguiled young readers and listeners will be further entranced by the endpapers where Ehlert names the leaves (different on front and back) and the dust jacket where she identifies unknown leaves by place of origin. Excellent to read aloud and to look at many times over. (Picture book. 4-8)