Fletcher and the Falling Leaves: A Fall Book for Kids

Product Information

This picture book beautifully introduces the concept of the changing seasons and the minimal, lyrical text illustrates the atmosphere of the transition from fall to winter. September 2019 update: I listened to a school librarian read this book aloud with first-grade students and they really got into the story.

I could definitely relate to this fox; telling a tree it will get better seems like something I would have done as a kid. Deeply attached to his favorite tree, Fletcher was terribly worried, as autumn proceeded, to notice it losing leaves. He feels like he has let his friend down, but then winter arrives and adorns his tree in dazzling new decorations. But I do like that the book focuses on a very emotional character who cares deeply about his favorite tree, it makes for such a poetic way to carry the story. The final page, in which Fletcher finally sees his tree in a new light, was particularly beautiful, offering a satisfying reassurance that, while change has come, it hasn't destroyed the tree's beauty.

I read this aloud to 4-year-olds today, and I have never, ever heard such audible gasps of "ohhhh"s as I did when I revealed the final page. She had a great opportunity to help him learn about seasons, but instead left him feeling, well, confused and sad and worried. The image I really loved the most was the final image where the tree is covered in icicles during winter and the icicles are covered with glitter which truly makes the image look beautiful and mesmerizing.

As the Autumn season sets in, Fletcher is very worried – his beautiful tree has begun to loose all of its leaves. I never thought that I would be so amazed in this book about what autumn is like to children who love trees, but innocently do not really understand about the life cycle of a tree. Fletcher and the Falling Leaves” is a children’s book by Julia Rawlinson along with illustrations by Tiphanie Beek and it is about a young fox named Fletcher who tries to save a tree’s leaves from falling off during autumn and winter. Tiphanie Beeke’s illustrations are cute and beautiful, especially of the image of Fletcher himself as he has black dotted eyes, a short bushy tail, large ears and reddish-orange fur.All of the copies in the library system were checked out or requested, so I used my own, and it was really special. The picture book was introducing a lot of themes here from the melancholy of Fletcher's feelings to the grief of his favorite tree changing to only being able to hold onto just a few leaves, seeing animals take the falling leaves leaving him with a sense of worry and much more. Fletcher is such a sweet character, and the book's gentle exploration of accepting change is perfect.

When I saw that the title character shared a name with my best furry friend, I knew I had to own this book. My three-year-old son didn't mind this story (especially since he's into foxes at the moment) and he loved the picture of the sparkly tree. Fletcher than goes to the tree every day to keep the leaves on the tree; however, when winter came, Fletcher noticed that all the leaves were starting to fall off more rapidly than before. As the autumn season sets in, Fletcher is very worried his beautiful tree has begun to loose all of its leaves.

Rawlinson truly does have a way with words, and has painted a beautiful picture of a beautiful season that is backed up by the soft brush strokes and rich colors of Beeke’s artwork. Originally published in Britain as Ferdie and the Falling Leaves (and subsequently published by Scholastic, for the American school-market, as The Fox and the Falling Leaves), this delightful autumn picture-book follows the story of a young fox, and his somewhat less-than-graceful adjustment to the changing of the seasons. I enjoyed reading this book aloud to my older kids, and I am so thankful to have another little one to read this to this year!