Review: Round by Jennifer Ward and Lisa Congdon

 

ROUND

by Jennifer Ward

Illustrated by Lisa Congdon

Beach Lane Books

Picture Book

48 pages

ages 3 to 8

From award-winning author Jennifer Ward and celebrated artist Lisa Congdon in her debut picture book comes a lyrical, rhyming exploration of the many round things that can be found in nature.

Nature all around is round...

Take a spin through the seasons in this thoughtful and meditative picture book that explores roundness in the natural world. There are round birds’ nests and eggs in the spring, round raindrops falling from the sky in the summer, round apples filling the trees in the fall, and round snowflakes covering the ground in winter—and so much more! Little ones will love this stunning read-aloud that is certain to intrigue and inspire them to start looking all around outside for things that are round.

BOOK DEPOSITORY

MY TIDBITS

Ringing in with a celebration of nature, the idea of 'round' is presented in a sweet and unforgettable way.

Nature is round. That's the main theme in these pages, and it's presented in a clear, constant way. From the moon to a curled up fox, the possibility to find 'round' things seems almost limitless. The author keeps the text extremely simple with only a few words on each page and let's the illustrations take over from there. Listeners will figure out pretty quickly what round is and probably head off to find things on their own...and if they are as inventive as this book, they'll have tons to discover.

The illustrations make this a read listeners will want to grab up on their own time and again. While the text isn't overly exciting (that's not the point, either), the illustrations allow all those round things in nature shine. The pictures are full of positive vibes and hold a variety of images and settings. 

As a whole, the book definitely brings across the idea of round and holds repetition as the main teaching tool....which works. There were a few moments, where I'm not sure the idea of round really fit the presented scene, and some listeners might be a bit stumped. But all in all, the book does it's job well and definitely gives enough 'round' for listeners to catch onto the concept pretty well.

And here they are...

Lisa Congdon is an illustrator, author, and speaker. She is a completely self-taught artist, whose successful career as an artist didn't start until her 30's. Best known for colorful graphic drawings and hand lettering, she's worked with high profile clients (including Comme des Gracons, the Obama campaign, Crate and Barrel, etc) and cultivated a following of 400K on her channels. Congdon has published eight adult books focusing on career-building as an artist, and also hosts motivational speaking engagements about finding one's artistic voice.

Jennifer Ward has writtein numerous award-winning picture books, including Mama Built a Little Nest and Mama Dug a Little Den, both illustrated by Steve Jenkins, and How to Find a Bird, illustrated by Diana Sudyka. A former elementary educator, Jennifer Ward is an experienced public speaker who travels the country, speaking in schools and at international and national writer and literacy conferences. She lives with her family in Edwardsville, Illinois. Visit her at JenniferWardBooks.com