Two boys have their light weight red fleece jackets on and are wearing their mud boots. It's spring and it's time to get out and play in some puddles. "Sploosh! Sploosh!" It's lots of fun to take sticks and splash in mud puddles to make waves. There are other sounds of spring and if you listen closely you can hear "birds' wings flapping as they fly to and fro" as they prepare their nests for their young. The weather is changing and instead of snowflakes now is the time to bring out an umbrella for you and a friend to hide under. The rain makes many different kinds of sounds. It can "plop, plop, plop" on a window or "patter, patter, patter" on a hard surface. Springtime is a time for storms as the seasons change.

Springtime is also a time for plants to come to life. Plants begin to spring out of the ground and after birds' eggs are hatched we hear the "peep, peep, peep of newly hatched chicks." We can see a newborn fawn and her mother nibbling grass in the spring, we can see a grizzly bear emerge from its den, and we can see children coming out to run and play. Families will go on outings, children fly kites, people plant gardens, and flowers begin to "poke through last year's dead leaves." Spring is a welcome time of year for many and signals that the warmer months of summer are coming. Can you think of things that show us that spring has arrived and summer is just around the corner?

This would be an excellent read and discuss book for circle or story time in a library or classroom setting. Children can draw on their powers of observation and experience to discuss what happens when winter makes way for spring. It would also be fun and interesting to integrate a simple lesson about our five senses. The photographs are vibrant, colorful and will be very appealing to the younger child. For example, the first photographs of children splashing around in mud puddles will be something many children can relate to. In the back of the book there is an interesting section on chicks and how they emerge from their shells. Additionally there is an index, a glossary, and additional book and website resources, including one on chick hatching.