Lisa Varchol Perron

With the calming atmosphere of a goodnight read, young star gazers are invited to explore the night sky and learn more about the universe around them.

This is a medium-sized board book, which means its sturdier than a picture book and will handle a bit of mistreatment. The illustrations follow a young boy and his mother as they watch the setting sun before getting ready for bedtime. The poetic text opens up questions surrounding Earth and the other planets, while a more informative box in the corner of each two-page spread offers the basic facts and explanations.

While board books tend to head for the youngest readers, the information offered in this one slides toward the 4 to 7 age group, and does a wonderful job at hitting basic science in an inviting manner. The text is written in a calming, poetic flow, while presenting basic questions such as why the Earth spins although we stand still or why planets have different colors. The answers to these are placed in a text block at the bottom of the right-hand page. These are a little more in-depth than the younger end of the age group might completely understand (adult readers can easily help out), but the upper end will be have no problem with it, since these don't go too deep, either.

The illustrations are well done and add a lovely balance between the home scenes and the planets in space. Each one is enjoyable to gaze at and offers a nice foundation for the knowledge to settle in.

I do recommend this one to young space fans ages 4 and up.… (más)

Great book - this adult learned a lot from this amazing math and science book. I loved the poetry used to introduce each page. Most of the poems are very well done and would engage young readers. Each page has an informational text box explaining the pattern and relevant science and math related to the image. A reader can pick and choose which boxes to read and dive deeper into the text. Some support may be needed to elaborate on text but most 2nd grade and up will understand the book. The pictures are very good stock images. I would have liked an additional image on some pages. The leaf vein page discussed fruit tree leaves with an image and corn leaves are mentioned but was not pictured. The sand dune page mentions a crescent & pyramid shape but these shapes are not included explicitly. There is enough unused space to add additional support images. The back matter is very helpful. I loved the questions and activity suggestions. I can create lessons for math, science, and language arts from this book. Additional reading recommendations are provided and gave this librarian ideas for book pairings and displays. A glossary is also included. Great book for patterns, poetry, science, nature, and math readers in elementary school.… (más)

Patterns Everywhere is a children's nature book. It has beautiful photographs to illustrate many different types of patterns found in our world, from ripples in sand, coral formations, ocean foam, and rock layers to snowflakes and mud cracks. The book is geared toward younger elementary students. The ideas are simple and clear. Some more difficult words are used but are explained in the text or the glossary at the back of the book. I think this is a wonderful way to expand the reading levels, making the book more interesting for advanced readers as well as explaining things for younger readers who want to learn more. I believe books of this type encourage parents to learn more so they can explain or elaborate on ideas to their children, or better yet, learn along with them. The book is designed to make children more observant, finding patterns of their own in the world around them. It is a wonderful idea and the book is beautifully put together.
Lisa Varchol Perron wears many hats - wife, parent, nature lover, psychotherapist with specialized training in child and adolescent development - but has loved writing since she was a child (her first elementary school story was Wilma the Washing Machine) and has recently decided to share that love with a career as a published author. My opinion is that she is uniquely qualified for this role, not the least because she remembers the joys of a childhood spent outdoors, being active and reading. I hope we see more of this type of book from Ms. Varchol Perron. Thank you to NetGalley and Millbrook Press for the ARC.… (más)