Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0061134015 ISBN 13: 9780061134012

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 2006

It's autumn, and Fletcher's favorite tree is slowly changing colors and losing its leaves.

Fletcher is very worried.

He tells the tree he'll help. But when the very last leaf falls to the ground, Fletcher feels as though he's let down his friend . . .

. . . until the first day of winter, when Fletcher sees that his tree has turned into a shining, glittering surprise.

About the Author:

Julia Rawlinson grew up in London and graduated from Southampton University with a degree in geography. She is the author of Fletcher and the Falling Leaves and Fletcher and the Springtime Blossoms, illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke. She lives in London with her husband and two sons.

Tiphanie Beeke attended the Royal College of Art, where she earned a master's degree in communication and design. She is the illustrator of The Duck Who Played the Kazoo, by Amy E. Sklansky, and many other books for children. The artist lives in France with her husband and three children.

From School Library Journal:

Starred Review. PreSchool-Grade 3–This potent synthesis of art and prose conveys a child's first awareness of the changing seasons with reverence and wonder. Fletcher, a tiny fox, is concerned when his favorite tree turns brown. His mother tells him, Don't worry, it's only autumn, but the tree hardly seems fine to Fletcher. As its leaves fall and flutter away, the youngster struggles in vain to catch and reattach them. When only one leaf remains, he does his level best to secure it to the limb, but eventually the stem dries up and the leaf pops off. Mournful and confused, he carries it home and takes it to bed with him. Still worried about his tree, he wakes up the next morning to find that it has undergone a sweet and satisfying transformation. Beeke's resplendent watercolors work beautifully with the book's tone, content, layout, and design. Picture books about nature sometimes suffer from cloying, excessively pastoral language or imagery; this rare example succumbs to neither. A first purchase for every collection.–Catherine Threadgill, Charleston County Public Library, SC
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