Lawrence in the Fall
Published April 9th 2019 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, Hardcover 48 pages
When Lawrence Fox's teacher announces that students will be presenting their collections at show-and-tell, Lawrence realizes he doesn't have anything to share.
Luckily, Papa knows just what to do to help! Together, they venture into the woods. Lawrence is scared at first, but as he grows comfortable in the forest, he starts to recognize its magic, and how beautiful and unique each tree and leaf is, allowing him to gather a splendid, one-of-a-kind collection of his own!
User Reviews
Rating: really liked it
Lovely story and expressive illustrations.
Rating: really liked it
Loved this for many reasons, one of which is that the main characters are foxes! But also, the soft illustrations together with the story and a young character to whom many of us can relate (someone feeling nervous about something they have to do, feeling unprepared, not entirely sure of what they need) makes this a very accessible and engaging read!
Another great thing is that the book includes illustrations of different types of leaves with their names -- perfect for young ones learning about leaves, and going on leaf-collecting walks, during the fall!
Rating: really liked it
Fox needed a collection to show at school, but unfortunately he didn't have one. So he and his father set out on an adventure to find one.
Rating: really liked it
A lovely story with equally lovely illustrations.
Rating: really liked it
(Insert curmudgeonly note about whether it really counts as a "collection" if you didn't start collecting anything until after the assignment was given and may or may not continue doing so after the assignment is completed.)
Cool book about finding something you're interested in by just walking around outdoors and seeing what gives you a spark.
Rating: really liked it
I am not sure if I read this book, experienced it on some other level or both. This is a book to reread (once for text, once for illustrations and finally, the two together). It has a nice tone to the story and a fun ending. Slightly fantastical, modern and classical all wrapped into one.
Rating: really liked it
Who usually takes care of children’s problems in the family? Mothers, right? Not in this story. This sweet story is about father and son spending quality time together. When little Lawrence, the fox, comes from school upset because he doesn’t have any collection to show in class, his father takes charge! His mother just peeks through the door and listens with a smile.
His father is determined to find something that Lawrence can share in class. He takes him for a walk in the woods. It starts to rain and Lawrence gets lost. Maybe he isn’t really lost? Maybe his father is somewhere in a safe distance watching after him, letting him find the “treasure” on his own? Maybe he lets him have a taste of independence?
It is early fall. After the rain the colorful leaves start to fall from the trees. They become Lawrence’s new collection. He shares his collection in class and everyone is amazed with the different shapes, sizes and colors of the leaves. At the end of the story, Lawrence leads all of his friends to the place where he found his collection. I can see myself reading this book on a fall day and taking my first graders out for a walk, letting them search for their own collections of leaves .
This picture book won a writer and the illustrator honor in the Ezra Jack Keats Awards in 2020. It is written by Matthew Farina and illustrated by Doug Salati. I absolutely love the combination of watercolors and soft pencil lines for added texture to the family den, grass, water, fur, tree barks and leaves. The colors in the book are beautifully muted and dominated by different shades of greens, blues and early fall’s yellows and browns.
This book is a must have for any pre-school, kindergarten or first grade classroom.
Rating: really liked it
When Lawrence finds out that his teacher wants the students to bring in their collections to share, he is very worried. He doesn’t have a collection at all. At home, he tells his father about not having a collection and his father has an idea. The two of them head into the forest together to see what they can find. But Lawrence doesn’t want to collect bugs the way the spider does and he can’t reach the shiny, smooth rocks that the river has collected. When a sudden storm begins, Lawrence gets separated from his father and finds himself standing near a large tree full of bright-colored leaves. Lawrence calls to the tree and it drops a beautiful leaf down to him. Now Lawrence knows exactly what to collect!
Farina captures the emotions that can accompany an assignment at school, including sadness and isolation. Thanks to the warmth of his father’s response, the two of them tackle the problem, taking action rather than despairing. In the end, Lawrence delights all of the children in his class by sharing his collection freely with them. The book has a touch of magic about it as Lawrence requests leaves from the trees, and they freely offer them.
The art by Salati captures Lawrence’s emotions beautifully. The double-page spreads of the forest are dramatic and could be seen as something frightening, particularly when Lawrence is separated from his father. In the end, the forest becomes something very special, a place where Lawrence discovers nature.
A lovely picture book with delicate illustrations and a strong story. Appropriate for ages 3-5.
Rating: really liked it
Lawrence in the Fall is a great children's book. A little fox named Lawrence comes home from school one day upset because he's supposed to bring in a collection to class for show and tell, but he doesn't collect anything! Lawrence's dad brings him into the woods to try and find something for him to collect. Lawrence gets lost in a clearing and becomes entranced by the leaves! He spends the rest of the day collecting different leaves from all sorts of different leaves, and brings them into show and tell the next day. His classmates love it, and he ends up giving them all away, because he knows where he can always get more! There definitely was diversity represented in this book. Fox and all of his classmates were different animals, different sizes and shapes and with different interests in collections. Lawrence goes on a little journey of self discovery and finds a new interest he enjoys. I think the moral of the story is that you can always find something new to like, and it's okay to be different from everyone else! The illustrations were pretty as well and drew the eye throughout the story, while refraining from distracting from the text. I would maybe use this in my classroom if I were about to have students do a show and tell where they were finding things they liked to share with the class, to encourage them to discover something new and go out on a limb!
Rating: really liked it
I absolutely loved this book, I would give it a perfect 5. Lawrence is a young fox that had to bring something he collected to class so he could show his classmates. Lawrence got overwhelmed because he did not know what he was going to bring. His Papa had the idea of going into the woods and finding something Lawrence could take to class. Just when they were in the middle of their search, a rainstorm hit and separated Lawrence and Papa. Lawrence found himself with a big colorful tree. Leaves from this tress fell onto Lawrence and that is when he got an idea and took leaves and other small nature items to his class. I would absolutely use this book in my classroom because it is an example of critical thinking. Although Lawrence was frustrated at first because he did not know what to take to class but with the help of his father, he discovered the perfect thing. They thought outside of the box and when my students feel frustrated, they can use this book to remind themselves that they can do it.
Rating: really liked it
Lawrence in the Fall tells the story of a young fox who needs to find something he collects for show-in-tell at school. Lawrence gets very discouraged as he does not collect anything and all his classmates are telling everyone what they plan to bring in. After crying to his father about having nothing to share, his father the next day takes him into the woods in order to find something. While in the woods it started to rain and the father and son got separated and during this time Lawernce noticed all the leaves falling from the trees. Once his father finds Lawrence they soon collect all different types of leaves from different trees to bring to school. The illustrations are simple yet clearly show every detail needed in order to create the setting that the author is trying to paint. The pictures take up the whole page which allows the readers to have more chances to better understand the story.
Rating: really liked it
Lawrence the fox needs a collection for show and tell and has nothing to share. Dad takes him into the forest to find something. A storm comes and separates the two. (This is the only thing I have a problem with. Why didn't Dad notice that Lawrence wasn't keeping up?) After the storm, Lawrence calls out and the trees drop some leaves. Lawrence is in awe of the beautiful leaves and his collection begins. He's reunited with Dad and show and tell is a success.
This is a cute story. The illustrations show texture and emotion. Drawings of things from Lawrence's classmates' collections decorate the front end papers while drawings of named leaves from Lawrence's collection decorate the back end papers.
Rating: really liked it
This simple and realistic story (teacher asks students to bring their collections to school to share) is told through a classroom of animals, each naming a delightful collection. But Lawrence Fox has never had a collection. The father/son day in the woods is loaded with charm and delightful illustrations. Lawrence not only solves his own challenge but elevates it a notch to incorporate nature study. On sharing day he inpsires classmates to join him on his wildlife adventures. The depictions of animals, especially the fox family, is a delight, even though I've been utterly spoiled by the expressive animal depictions of Brian Lies.
Rating: really liked it
Lawrence doesn't have anything to bring for show and tell. He doesn't collect anything. Fortunately, Dad knows what to do and takes him to the woods to see if they can find a great collection somewhere. Finding a collection is hard work! Fortunately, nature and autumn work together to help Lawrence find just what he needs.
Many a child has found it difficult to pick the right thing for show and tell. This beautiful autumn book combines a bit of trust and a little creativity with cozy festive themes. It turns out that collections are best when shared.
