SPRING BLOSSOMS

The third in a seasonal series by Gerber and Evans (Winter Trees, 2008, etc.), this picture book presents 10 different spring-blooming trees.

Two young girls hold hands and skip out into a new spring day. “Spring is bursting out all over. / The sun is up. It’s warm. Let’s go! // Trees, so bare and plain in winter, / are dressed up for their yearly show.” Gerber’s gentle and informative text moves gracefully through the pages, providing descriptions of flowering trees. The dogwood and crab-apple flowers are easily recognized. Less familiar are the white oak and magnolia tree blossoms. Four of the examples show the difference between the male and female flowers (white oak, white pine, balsam fir and beech). Children unaware of the distinction might become distracted from the rhythm of the book and ask questions. Unfortunately, there are few answers in the poetic text. The ending pages show all the blossoms on one page, followed by a description of the transformation of trees in the spring, which includes a paragraph on male and female flowers. Evan’s block-print-and–watercolor artwork provides clean and colorful images of the blossoms, although the medium seems to work better with the snow scenes and evergreens of the duo's Winter Trees.

An artistic seasonal book, best appreciated by flower lovers.