Leafy Critters – Yvonne Lacet

 Leafy Critters – Yvonne Lacet, Blue Dot Kids Press, 9781733121224, 2020

Format: Hardcover

Rating:  1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5

 What did you like about the book? This book is part nature book, part art book, and one hundred percent a book on creativity and imagination! Leafy Critters takes objects found in nature such as leaves, flower petals, blades of grass, four-leaf clovers, and discarded insect wings and turns them into beautiful animal masterpieces. These bits and pieces of nature are arranged and photographed by Yvonne Lacet and the results are amazing–the nature items she used are almost completely obscured in her beautiful creations. Animals such as a fox, butterfly, pig, ducks, turtle, fish, flamingo, and many more are seen in the pages of this book. We see orange flower petals become the bushy mane of a lion, fuzzy galls collected from leaves become the wool of a sheep, and thin green leaves carefully overlapping become the slithering body of a green snake.  

In the back of the book, Lacet offers tips for children to create their own creatures at home. She encourages children to gather items in nature and then look at these items in a new way. “Berries become eyes, leaves become wings, twigs become paws.” With a little imagination, children will soon be creating their very own leafy critter masterpieces.

Anything you did not like about the book. Nothing

To whom would you recommend this book? This book is great for older children (around 5 years old and up) to actually gather the material and create some leafy critters. Younger children (three to five years old) would enjoy looking at the pictures and seeing if they can identify the nature items on each page. The story (and possible craft projects from the story) remind me of Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

Who should buy this book? Public and elementary school libraries, daycare centers, preschools, anyone who works with children older than the age of three.

Where would you shelve it? Nonfiction, art section

 Should we (librarians) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes, great for encouraging creativity and perfect for a nature-themed unit.

Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City: Kristin Guay, former youth services librarian.

Date of review: April 9, 2020