Yellow Time

PreS-Gr 2—Stringer re-creates those last days of autumn when the trees are no longer putting on a fiery show of colors and the leaves are one gusty day away from shuddering to the ground. Short, declarative, yet lyrical sentences set the stage ("The squirrels are too busy to notice, and the geese have already gone."). Stringer continues to remind readers of the sounds ("Crows love yellow time. They fill still-leafy trees with their voices announcing its coming…") and the smells ("wet mud and dry grass with a sprinkle of sugar") of autumn and discusses the changing of the seasons ("Yellow time comes before white time. Every time."). When the wind begins, everyone is ready: the trees, the children, the crows, and even the busy squirrels that use the fallen leaves for their lofty nests. The watercolor and acrylic illustrations, subtly reminiscent of Lois Lenski's work, are full of movement and emotion. Stringer's rendering of the autumn landscape and its diverse inhabitants, round faces lifted to the sky, remind readers of a moment in time.