Happy Perfect Picture Book Friday, my friends. And I’ve got a wonderful book to review that fits perfectly with this season of spring.

GROWING SEASON

Written and illustrated by Maryann Cocca-Leffler

Published by Sterling House Books (2019)

Ages: 4-8

Themes: Friendship, gardening

Synopsis: From Amazon:

El and Jo are the shortest kids in class, and they’re inseparable. But what happens when Jo starts to grow? This sweet picture book explores the joys and challenges of friendship and growing up.
 
El and Jo are the smallest students in their class—and best friends, too, like peas in a pod. Even their names are short. But in springtime, something BIG happens: Jo starts growing like a weed, while El feels smaller every day. On the last day of school, their teacher asked every child to pick a plant to care for over the summer. All the other kids reach over El to grab their plant, and she has to take the very last one: a tiny, flowerless aster. At first, she’s disappointed. But as summer progresses, the aster begins to bloom—and so does El!

Why I love this book:

• I love friendship stories!
• This is a wonderful book to use for discussion about how we are all different and we grow and mature in our own ways.
• FABULOUS illustrations!

RELATED ACTIVITIES:

Grow Your Own Salad Garden: for detailed instructions: https://kidsgardening.org/garden-activities/

For more wonderful picture book reviews, please hop over to Susanna Hill’s blog.

Don’t forget to leave a comment for a chance to win a copy of Maryann’s wonderful new book!

And please come back tomorrow for an inside look into the writing and illustrating journey of author Maryann Coccoa-Leffler.