Keely Parrack

Haiku mixes with all sorts of fun facts about nature to create a book which is not only informative but beautiful, too.

Every page holds a part of nature (mostly creatures), presents a haiku surrounding the theme, and then dives into a larger paragraph, which describes the habits and special aspects. The information is brought across in a lovely worded way, allowing facts to come to life. More difficult terms are highlighted, and then more closely defined in a glossary at the end of the book. There is also a page at the end dedicated solely to explaining haiku and encouraging young readers to create their own.

This books is a fresh breath of nature. Each creature comes across sweet and full of life. The haiku sets a warm, inviting and comforting atmosphere, which draws in. The descriptions bring across information without becoming harsh and preachy...thanks to the playful and natural wording. It's a nice way to introduce kids to various creatures and aspects of nature, while bringing across facts they didn't know before. The informative paragraphs are a bit long and won't hold the interest of younger listeners unless being read only a few at a time. Even the older end of the age group probably won't be able to read this in one setting. There's too much to digest. Since there aren't any headers, divides, or theme headers, it's difficult to locate a certain animal for information's sake or easily start where a reader left off. It makes for a lovely but thick read.

The illustrations start out dark and slowly slide into the crisp energy of day. Each aspect of nature comes across with a lively nature and fits well with the haiku and description.

This is a great book for introducing not only haiku but also gives facts and introductions to many aspects and creatures found in nature. Even homeschoolers and classrooms can use this one.

I received an ARC and enjoyed reading every page.… (més)