By Julia Rawlinson Illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke
Greenwillow Books an Imprint of HarperCollins
Hardover 32 Page Picture Book Ages 2-6
Fletcher is a young fox who becomes concerned when his favorite tree begins to turn brown. After his mother tells him it’s just fall he’s less worried that his tree is sick. But when the leaves begin to fly from the tree he’s frantic to help it.
Fletcher the fox learns about Fall and discovers that change can be beautiful.
Clearly concerned when the leaves begin to fall he tries himself to help the tree. He puts the leaves back as best he can, but they still fall away. He elicits the skill of a flock of birds who put as many leaves back as they can. Content he falls asleep looking up at the sky through the leaves. But of course, the wind starts to blow and as he snoozes the leaves all fall but one. Determined to help this one leaf he climbs up and holds it to the tree with all his might. However, this isn’t successful either and he takes the leaf home and tucks it into a cozy place and is very sad.
The next morning Fletcher goes out to see his tree and the weather is very cold. He discovers there’s been a frost and now his tree is covered in thousands of icicles and more beautiful than ever.
This book is beautiful. The illustrations/watercolors are soft and not overly detailed which pairs well with the author’s tone and content which has no superfluousness about it. The last page features the tree covered in icicles and is artistically done in blues, greens, and white and is in stark contrast to the previous pages of soft autumn tones of golds and browns. The icicles on the tree are done in spot gloss and have a stunning effect. There is an issue with terminology in relation to the porcupine featured in the story. Being a stickler for giving children proper terminology with respect to age, porcupines have quills, and the reference to needles is incorrect and seems rather offhanded, however this should not deter anyone from buying this book. It’s a lovely addition to any child’s library.
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves gets 41/2 stars from this reviewer.