This is a book of haikus that go through the seasons. The poems take an object from the season and personify it. For example, "Lawns call a truce with mowers and slip beneath their white blankets to sleep" Every page is a different object from the season with a different personification. I like haikus because they are short sweet and to the point. While they are simple in structure, they can have a lot to say at the same time and that's the beautiful thing about them. The book has illustrations to accompany each haiku. The illustrations look as though they were done in colored pencil, most taking up the entire page. They are made to be very realistic pictures. The back of the book has a little excerpt on the background of haikus, and also has a description of each of the four seasons. I loved that this book has an educational explanation at the end. I would recommend this to teachers to read to children. ( )

Genre: Poetry
Review: "The Year Comes Round" is a book of haiku's about the seasons and nature. Most of the poems are about animals: robins, bears, fireflies, frogs, but there are also haiku's about snowmen, Jack Frost, the lawnmower, pumpkins, etc. The poems are organized by season, so the reader gets to see a natural progression through the year. There is also some information about haiku's at the end of the book. I liked these poems because they were simple, easy to understand, and enjoyable. It is a good example of poetry because the topics are similar and they can be easily understood. A child will not struggle to read this book and will get a new perspective on poetry.
Uses: This book would be great to read throughout the year during different seasons. It would also be good to use to give examples of a haiku. A teacher could ask students to write their own season haiku based on these.
Media: Colored pencil ( )

The Year Comes Round is a book written in Haikus. There are 13 haikus in the book and it goes through each month with a poem about that time of year. This would be good for younger students as it is simple and written in the same form on each page. It would also be good for older students who are able to appreciate the poetic aspect of the book. It could also be used as part of a poetry unit when discussing different types of poems and how to write them. ( )

This was a wonderful surprise. For me, Haiku can be very stilted. This definitely was not. I could see lots of ways to enjoy this book with children.

Pros: Beautiful illustrations complement soothing poetry about the seasons of the year. This is great for bedtime with young children or in a classroom where you're teaching poetry form.

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Grades K-4

This is a book to savor quietly. Thirteen haikus, one for each month of the year and a final one about the earth and its seasons, join beautifully with lush watercolors from Ilse Plume. Although the poems aren't labeled with the months, readers will infer that the first one is about January. The fourth in the book reads "The morning rain bursts/ dandelions from the earth like/ countless little suns" and is accompanied by evocative pictures of dandelions and clover amid drops of rain. Backmatter includes a brief description of haiku, a page dedicated to "The Cycle of Life," and another page describing each of the four seasons. The haiku and the illustrations offer much to pore over.
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