FARFALLINA & MARCEL
By Holly Keller
Greenwillow Books
ISBN: 0064438724

Everybody grows up, even caterpillars and goslings. Farfallina the caterpillar and Marcel the goose begin an unlikely friendship, exploring their pond habitat together. When they play hide-and-seek, Farfallina keeps in mind that Marcel can't look for her up a tree, and Marcel knows not to hide too far because she is a slow walker. But one day Farfallina disappears for a long time, and Marcel becomes a goose while she is gone. When she emerges as a butterfly, will the two friends be able to find and recognize each other again? This story beautifully illustrates the bond of friendship that lasts even as the two friends must go through changes.

THE GREAT BLUE HOUSE
By Kate Banks
Illustrated by: Georg Hallensleben
Frances Foster Books
ISBN: 0374327696

The changing seasons are illustrated in this book by the activities of animals and children in a big blue house. During the summer, the children chase frogs by the stream while crickets sing. In the winter, the house quiets down, but it is not silent. A mouse, a cat and a bird putter around the empty house, waiting for spring. The descriptions of the sounds in the house will take your child from the noisy din of summer to the quiet rustlings of winter, and back again.

MY MOTHER TALKS TO TREES
By Doris Gove
Illustrated by Marilynn H. Mallory
Peachtree Publishers
ISBN: 1561453366

"My mother talks to trees?out loud and right in public," claims Laura, the book's young narrator. This habit makes Laura a tad embarrassed. But that doesn't keep her from learning about catkins, leaflets, lichens, pollen, and more as she identifies 11 tree species on her walks with Mom. The two keep tabs on the growth of saplings they've planted over the years. It seems that trees grow on you. And so does the habit of talking to them. A special section at the end of the book familiarizes children with tree terms and reviews concepts presented in the book.