In November

I absolutely love the art in this book. One of my major complaints with a lot of kids books, is that they are too cartoonish. This book is NOT like that at all - very rich watercolor drawings make this enjoyable for adults as well as kids.

Cynthia Ryland does it again! A wonderful book for use with teaching metaphors. Her descriptive words gives visual meaning to each sentence. A wonderful book to use with six traits writing "Voice" and teaching inference to young children. Each page is filled with words to ponder, reflect, relate and to write about. Although there is no reference to Thanksgiving, many children relate to the special day and time with relatives. A perfect book for November and a perfect title. The illustrations are beautiful; giving a feeling of warmth to the words. Every teacher should own a copy.

What happens in November? This story is beautifully illustrated to depict different activities that occur in late fall as the earth and its' creatures prepare for winter. Cynthia Rylant uses a combination of similies and metaphors to capture the reader/listner and draw them into the book. Jill Kastner's paintings blend colors to give a striking contrast on each page that grabs the eyes of the audience to pull them into the text. The realistic activities and traditions depicted in the story are brought to life by the rhthym of the text. The children nod and join in when they hear "In November, the animals sleep more. The air is chilly and they ...shiver!" As the children explore the page with their eyes, there is no doubt that they can relate to feeling chilly and shivering themselves at one time. There is no specific reference made to Thanksgiving in the text, but listners quickly pick up on the special day in November, where friends or families travel to see each other, share a special meal together, and give thanks for their many blessings. As the listners see the final page of the boook, many will oohh and aaahhh, and volunteer, they too, have traveled home after a special dinner at night. The audience of this book gains a sense of peace and belonging to our earth, as they relate to some or many of the illustrations and text in some way. CMH

We just finished reading this in my Children's Literacy class. It was an apt example of "Voice" in writing. Cynthia Rylant, whom I adore as an author, once again writes a beautifully descriptive book about the month of November. This book is a must for any children's library.