Busy Spring

Beautifully illustrated story showing children all the ways in which our gardens begin to wake up during spring, explaining how animals and plants work together in harmony. At the back is a lovely list of ideas which budding naturalists can put into action. Perfect book for this time of year.

What an amazing, uplifting book! The whole story feels alive, full of energy and happiness.
We see Jasmine, her sister, and her dad going out into the garden which is springing into life after the winter. It is a joyous exploration of nature to be found in your own back garden. Birds, insects, plants, puddles! How fun it is to be outside and help with the digging!
There is a lot to be learnt from this book too, not only in the fictional story at the start of the book, where we find out about plants, light, pollen and insects, lifecycles and habitats, but also in the following non-fiction section which contains further explanations about spring, seasons, plants, trees, insects, hibernation, climate change and how you can help.
Alongside the beautiful illustrations, this book is an ode to waking up with nature, enjoying it, helping it, and being mindful for the future.

Fantastic book that I received for perfect timing of reading it to my daughter, as her home schooling has also been all about spring and the habitats that animals live in etc.
Great book that explains what spring is, what happens, and what animals you are likely to see.
The illustrations were really cute too

I love this book. I love the characters, the illustrations and the light information about spring. Reading this under a tree while watching the garden would be perfect! Lovely!

Busy Spring, Nature wakes up by Sean Taylor, Alex Morss and illustrated by Cinyee Chiu

This is such a lovely, sweet and quaint picture book. The illustrations are beautiful and extremely detailed, leading to lots of discussions and opportunities to talk around the text.

The story follows two sisters and their Dad as they get the garden ready for spring, they spot lots of wonderful creatures and the story provides lots of information on the wildlife they find.

They eventually find Dad’s fork and just themselves digging and planting carrots. This is where the book becomes a non- fiction book explains seasons, different flowers, hibernation, garden animals and how you can help them!

This is the perfect picture book to immerse younger children in nature and wildlife. I just wish my children weren’t that little bit young for it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Words and Pictures for the chance to read and review this book.

A quite lovely book for slightly older picture-book readers. Two children explore the garden with their dad, as Spring arrives. It’s lively and fun, the illustrations are gorgeous and give you plenty to discover, and the non-fiction elements at the end really add to the book. I’ll be adding it to my to-buy list.

Thanks NetGalley and Quarto for the chance to read this one!

This book is perfect for our family as we do a lot of gardening and we spend a lot of time exploring nature together.

I love the familiarity and intimacy of this story. We felt such a connection to this story, and I think this is because of the beautifully sweet and therapeutic prose. My daughter was enthralled by the illustrations as she could spot many of the birds and animals she recognizes from her own garden. The story explores the magic of nature, the metamorphosis of caterpillars into butterflies and tadpoles into frogs and the hope that it brings. Nature is given the honor it deserves in this book and we really enjoyed this very much.

My daughter has such a strong interest in nature so this was perfect for her, and the non-fiction information at the end of the book means this book is sure to be a go-to reference for her in future years to come.

This will be a popular book with our users. Lovely illustrations accompany a gentle, simple story giving detail to the emergence of spring. Informative information at the back too. I can see this being a well-used resource.

I would recommend this for:
those in need of a story full of wonder who have their feet planted firmly in the ground.


The Story:
This is a gentle story of spring awakenings told from the viewpoint of a child and her little sister, Jasmine. Dad puts on his jumper with the hole in it: it must be time for gardening. Exploring the garden as they search for Dad’s fork, the family discover bees buzzing, tadpoles, caterpillars, birds making nests, fox cubs sleeping and hibernating hedgehogs.
Each time, Dad explains to the children what is happening in this ‘busy spring’. Insects are hailed as ‘nature’s recyclers’.
There is a quiet exuberance of joy in the sounds, smells and sights of nature. Throughout there is the opportunity to roll, fly, chase and laugh in the garden.
Finally it is time for the family to join nature and get ‘busy’. It’s time to plant carrots.

A wealth of information can be found at the back of the book. There are facts about plants, trees, animals and a lovely final page with suggestions for garden projects to help wildlife.

This is a book to return to again and again over the years. It is one that will be there on many different levels, and super as a reference text, as the reader grows. This is a book that would be a worthwhile investment.


Illustration
Cinyee Chiu has matched this inspiring story with bright, colourful illustrations capturing the joy and happiness the children find in the garden. Nature is portrayed in beautiful detail and these are pages a child would love to pore over and examine. There is so much that offers up great opportunities for questions and discussions.


If you enjoy this story, you might like:
Jody’s Beans by Malachy Doyle

Thank you to Quarto Publishing and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book for review.