Leaf Man

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Lois Ehlert

Ehlert worked as a freelance graphic designer illustrating for others' children books before releasing her first book Growing Vegetable Soup. Her next book, Planting a Rainbow, was a Caldecott Honor book in 1988. Both books were applauded for the bold colors and simple graphics. But it was in the next books, Color Zoo and Color Farm, where Ehlert combined die cut pages with her bold colors which became the signature design element for most of her books.

Ehlert's process for creating a book begins with pencil drawings in a "dummy book." Once she creates the book's artwork, each piece is cut out and individually glues into the mock-up dummy.

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World Relevance

Trees are the largest plant on earth!  They improve our air water quality, reduce flooding and soil and create habitats for animals and other plants. Trees are also magical places for children. Even more magical is autumn when deciduous trees' leaves begin to change color and fall to the ground. 

The sensory benefits of playing with fallen leaves is developmentally important for preschool children -- leaf play and activities develop a child's tactile awareness, her visual/motor coordination and a sense of body awareness within space.

Leaf Man used to live near me, in a pile of leaves.
But yesterday the wind blew Leaf Man away.
He left no travel plans.
The last time I saw him, he was headed East -
past the chickens, toward the marsh, over the ducks and geese.

A Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.

He blew over the fields of pumpkins and winter squash, and flew over the turkey, past potatoes, carrots, and cabbages in rows.
Then he blew out of sight.
Is he drifting West, above the orchards? Or over the prairie meadows, And past the spotted cows?

Well, a Leaf Man's got to go where the wind blows.

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Synopsis

The book's narrative poetry follows Leaf Man's travels once the wind picks up -- does he glide across a lake, fly along a river, follow butterflies or travel North over mountains? And Ehlert creates beautiful leaf pictures to accompany the poetic imagery. In her own words, she collected "sweet gum fruit from Kansas City, oak leaves from Ithaca, fig leaves from Washington, D.C. - color copying them as soon as possible. My leaf file became chubby, but I didn't stop collecting until snow finally covered the last Wisconsin maple leaves of fall."

The rich texture of the collage-like images is supported by die-cut pages of different entrancing landscapes.

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Learning Connections

• Lois Ehlert, A Video Interview, Reading Rocket
  
• Leaf Man Lesson Plan, Scholastic
• 25+ Leaf Activities for Toddlers, Toddler Approved
• Learning About Trees with Wooden Train Tracks, Play Trains

Ages: 3-5 year olds; preschool; 40 pages. A whimsical book celebrating autumn leaves. Includes an author's note and leaf-identifying labels.

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