Overview

A fresh take on a familiar saying, perfect for the first rainy days of spring. Rattling windows with the roar of a late-winter storm, March shows up like a lion-- wild and messy, muddy and wet.  In rhythmic, exuberant text, Newbery Honor-author Marion Dane Bauer conveys the changeable nature of spring weather, as the lion makes way for the lamb—with a huge sneeze!—as the trees and flowers spring into bloom.  Full of humor and motion, Caldecott-winning illustrator Emily Arnold McCully's soft watercolors bring the blustering lion and gentle lamb to life. From hail and wet snow to vibrant green fields full of blossoms, the illustrations grow brighter, springing into new life—and hinting and the summer to come. The lively text and paintings illustrate the ways in which we personify spring weather, making this book a perfect introduction to figurative language—and lots of fun to read as well.

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9780823424320

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The title s familiar proverb, muse for many a postwinter bulletin board, inspires this picture-book interpretation. March comes with a roar. / He rattles your windows / and scratches at your door reads the text as the ink-and-watercolor illustrations show a young boy, who looks out the window and finds an ominous feline face peering in through the snow. Each subsequent scene illustrates the literal meaning a child might imagine when hearing the meteorological metaphors: a lion tracks mud, sleet, and hail into the house and just will not leave. Then, one morning, some fresh air tickles the obstinate beast s nose, and a cute lamb comes flying out with his sneeze, spreading nature and newness. The poetic license in this final scene, as well as in some of the rhymes, feels stretched, but both the words and pictures offer a warm depiction of the change of seasons along with a shout-out to young springtime allergy sufferers.

The title s familiar proverb, muse for many a postwinter bulletin board, inspires this picture-book interpretation. March comes with a roar. / He rattles your windows / and scratches at your door reads the text as the ink-and-watercolor illustrations show a young boy, who looks out the window and finds an ominous feline face peering in through the snow. Each subsequent scene illustrates the literal meaning a child might imagine when hearing the meteorological metaphors: a lion tracks mud, sleet, and hail into the house and just will not leave. Then, one morning, some fresh air tickles the obstinate beast s nose, and a cute lamb comes flying out with his sneeze, spreading nature and newness. The poetic license in this final scene, as well as in some of the rhymes, feels stretched, but both the words and pictures offer a warm depiction of the change of seasons along with a shout-out to young springtime allergy sufferers. </p>

The title's familiar proverb, muse for many a postwinter bulletin board, inspires this picture-book interpretation. March comes with a roar. / He rattles your windows / and scratches at your door reads the text as the ink-and-watercolor illustrations show a young boy, who looks out the window and finds an ominous feline face peering in through the snow. Each subsequent scene illustrates the literal meaning a child might imagine when hearing the meteorological metaphors: a lion tracks mud, sleet, and hail into the house and just will not leave. Then, one morning, some fresh air tickles the obstinate beast's nose, and a cute lamb comes flying out with his sneeze, spreading nature and newness. The poetic license in this final scene, as well as in some of the rhymes, feels stretched, but both the words and pictures offer a warm depiction of the change of seasons--along with a shout-out to young springtime allergy sufferers. In Bauer's capable hands, the age-old simile of March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb is made quite literal. Readers follow as, one after the other, they visit the house of one little boy. March comes with a roar. / He rattles your windows / and scratches at your door. / He turns snow to mud, / then tromps across your floor. The lion wreaks utter havoc--until the day when the soft breeze and new tree buds cause the lion to sneeze. Riding the wave of that sneeze, the lamb comes prancing in, ushering in all things spring. And that lion? Is he going to lurk about and cause trouble? No, his rumbles are snores now, and he'll sleep away the days until next March. Bauer cleverly uses her transition sneeze to set up the possibility of a sequel--summer bugs ride in on the lamb's mighty A-A-A-A-CHOO! While the text provides the skeleton, McCully's pen, ink and watercolor illustrations truly bring the old song to life. Her lion is a wonderful cross between a fierce foe, threatening with his teeth and claws, and a party pooper, making a mess and spoiling any good times outdoors. Meanwhile, the lamb is a perfect ball of snow-white fluff. Spare backgrounds during the lion's reign echo the bleakness of the weather and change to light blues and greens as the lamb takes charge. A good addition to the spring shelf, it is sure to find its way, roaring and bleating, to classrooms studying similes. (Picture book. 4-8) The title s familiar proverb, muse for many a postwinter bulletin board, inspires this picture-book interpretation. March comes with a roar. / He rattles your windows / and scratches at your door reads the text as the ink-and-watercolor illustrations show a young boy, who looks out the window and finds an ominous feline face peering in through the snow. Each subsequent scene illustrates the literal meaning a child might imagine when hearing the meteorological metaphors: a lion tracks mud, sleet, and hail into the house and just will not leave. Then, one morning, some fresh air tickles the obstinate beast s nose, and a cute lamb comes flying out with his sneeze, spreading nature and newness. The poetic license in this final scene, as well as in some of the rhymes, feels stretched, but both the words and pictures offer a warm depiction of the change of seasons along with a shout-out to young springtime allergy sufferers. In Bauer s capable hands, the age-old simile of March coming in like a lion and going out like a lamb is made quite literal. Readers follow as, one after the other, they visit the house of one little boy. March comes with a roar. / He rattles your windows / and scratches at your door. / He turns snow to mud, / then tromps across your floor. The lion wreaks utter havoc until the day when the soft breeze and new tree buds cause the lion to sneeze. Riding the wave of that sneeze, the lamb comes prancing in, ushering in all things spring. And that lion? Is he going to lurk about and cause trouble? No, his rumbles are snores now, and he'll sleep away the days until next March. Bauer cleverly uses her transition sneeze to set up the possibility of a sequel summer bugs ride in on the lamb s mighty A-A-A-A-CHOO! While the text provides the skeleton, McCully s pen, ink and watercolor illustrations truly bring the old song to life. Her lion is a wonderful cross between a fierce foe, threatening with his teeth and claws, and a party pooper, making a mess and spoiling any good times outdoors. Meanwhile, the lamb is a perfect ball of snow-white fluff. Spare backgrounds during the lion s reign echo the bleakness of the weather and change to light blues and greens as the lamb takes charge. A good addition to the spring shelf, it is sure to find its way, roaring and bleating, to classrooms studying similes. (Picture book. 4-8)

Author Information

Marion Dane Bauer is the award-winning author of more than one hundred books for young people, from early readers to young-adult novels, including On My Honor, for which she was awarded a Newbery Honor Award.  She recently authored The Stuff of Stars which received a Coretta Scott King medal for illustration. She taught writing and served as a Faculty Chair at the Vermont College of Fine Arts, but now writes full-time.  She lives in Minnesota. Emily Arnold McCully has won many awards, including the Caldecott Medal for Mirette on the High Wire and a Christopher Award for Picnic. She is the author and illustrator of numerous books, including Pete Won't Eat, which received starred reviews from Kirkus Reviews and School Library Journal, which said, ""The illustrations are priceless."" She lives in New York City and Columbia County, New York, where she is an avid gardener.

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