Why Do Leaves Change Color?

Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science, Stage 2

by Betsy Maestro, Loretta Krupinski (Illustrator)

Explains how leaves change their colors in autumn and then separate from the tree as the tree prepares for winter

Genres: Science, Picture Books, Nonfiction, Nature, Childrens, Plants, 1st Grade

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Before beginning her career in children's books, Betsy Maestro was a teacher. Her first book with Giulio Maestro was A Wise Monkey Tale published in 1975, and since then they have collaborated on more than one hundred books. Their on-going American Story series began with the highly acclaimed The Discovery of the Americas and continues to help young readers understand and appreciate our nations history.

The Maestros live with two cats and a goldfish in a converted cow barn in Old Lyme, Connecticut.

Reviews

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

An educational book about autumn foliage. I find it flat and dull to read, but my daughter enjoyed it when she was six, probably because of the pretty pictures and the dog that accompanies two kids throughout the book.

[Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I liked the part when it told me why leaves change color. Leaves change color when in the fall, it doesn't enough sunlight and the carophyll goes away and different colors appear.

[L.A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

This had some good concepts to present, but wasn’t organized the best. It was kind of repetitive with the sentences saying the same thing, just using different words page after page.

[Caroline Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

o Summary: This book tells young readers the reasoning behind leaves changing colors in the fall. The pictures are beautifully made and colored. This is a fun book to read at the beginning of fall.
o Grade level: first
o Appropriate classroom use: read when fall just begins to a class you are teaching what fall is or about the different seasons. could also teach about plants.
o Individual students who might benefit from reading: students that do not know why leaves change colors
o Small group use: fun read for students during quiet time.
o Whole class use: Read during carpet reading at the beginning or fall and have a small test over why leaves change colors.
o Related books in genre/subject or content area:Autumn Leaves
o Multimedia connections available: Videos on Youtube in elapsed time of leaves changing colors

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The autumnal change of colors is explored in this non-fiction picture book from author Betsy Maestro and illustrator Loretta Krupinski, which offers a basic scientific explanation, as well as some hints on how to enjoy the season. After a brief explanation of what makes leaves green and what they do for a tree, the narrative turns to the changes brought by fall, as leaves begin to die, making less chlorophyll and slowly changing color as a result. Concluding with some discussion of cleaning up and playing in leaves, the book closes with some craft ideas, and with a list of parks within the US where beautiful fall foliage can be seen...

Part of the second stage of HarperCollins' Let's-Read-and-Find-Out Science series, intended to familiarize primary-school students with basic scientific concepts, Why Do Leaves Change Color? is the first title I have read from Betsy Maestro, who appears to be quite a prolific author of non-fiction for children. Apparently most of her many books have been illustrated by her husband, Giulio Maestro, although Loretta Krupinski—whose work I know from Shirley Climo's The Irish Cinderlad —was the illustrator here. In any case, while overall I enjoyed this exploration of one of my favorite natural phenomena—namely the changing colors of autumn—I did have two criticisms of the text. The first was its somewhat repetitive nature, with phrases that would appear again and again. The second was that I felt certain specifics should have been provided, when it came to the pigments causing specific color changes. Having named chlorophyll, as well as mentioning the tannins which produce the brownness of autumn oak leaves, why not name what causes red, yellow and orange hues in leaves? Leaving these critiques aside, in general I thought this was an educational and fun book, and I enjoyed the gouache and colored pencil illustrations, which captured the beauty of my favorite season. I wasn't impressed, the first time I encountered Krupinski's work, but now I think I would like to see more of it, as well as more of Maestro's (despite my criticism). Recommended to young scientists curious about what make the leaves change in the fall.

[Jenna Proulx · Rating 5 out of 5]

In summary, fall time is upon the children in the book and they want to know how leaves change their color. The book then proceeds to explain the process a tree' leaves go through during the fall and how and why their colors change into the fall colors. It also provides activities kids can do with the fall leaves for fun. This is nonfiction and provides text features in order of the reader to understand the information more in depth such as pictures and captions and labeled diagrams. This book is greta for 7-10 year olds because the content is easy to follow but it does include some higher level vocabulary. Personally, I enjoyed this book, I learned some new information and the illustrations were fun too look at because they took up the entire page and they were extremely colorful.

[Colleen Roussel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This readout loud is part of a science series that explains the process of how leaves change colors and separate from the tree to prepare for winter. Examples of different kinds of leaves are given by showing their different sizes, shapes, and colors. Readers are introduced to the role that Chlorophyll has during the leaf's life and how the processed sugar is used throughout the tree. The illustrations are brightly colored using gouache and colored pencils, giving young readers vivid images to learn from. However, I did find this book to be redundant. As a future teacher, I will look into different resources to use for class instruction, this book would be good for students individually refreshing from the lesson.

[Elizabeth Lancaster · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author identifies and explains some of the different types of leaves that can be found in nature. The book then explains why the leaves are green and where the new colors come from in the fall. Then it explains why some trees do not undergo this change at all.

I thought the illustrations in this book were very beautiful. The book was also very interesting and contained a lot of useful information.

I would definitely use this book in the fall to explain to my students why the leaves change. I would also love to use the activity so that my students can make their own beautiful leaves.

[Nashiea Edmiston · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why do leaves turn from green to gold? This is an excellent essential question for starting a unit on fall, or seasons, or leaves with your primary students. This book has such rich vocabulary and even contains drawings with labels, perfect for tying in text features. This book is a little long but should keep young children engaged, just make sure you take breaks to show additional photos for ELL/SPED students. Overall, I love this book and plan to use it for many years to come!

[Willow · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book about why the leaves change color in fall. The pictures are better than the cover leads you to believe and the writing is clear. The length is POSSIBLY one page longer than it should be. I feel like the information about the pigments in veggies seemed a little off-topic, but maybe next year we will appreciate it more.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides some very interesting facts about what happens when the season changes to Fall, and the trees prepare for Winter. It explains how the sunlight, and cooler temperatures changes the pigment of the leaves, and the various stages that occur. The book also includes simple activities and places to visit to enjoy the many colors of Fall.

[Heather-Keith Huighe · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good read aloud informational picture book for autumn. It has nice illustrations. I wouldn't necessarily think it would classify as an early reader. It is a good introduction to the science side of the fall season and it's corresponding vocabulary. I would recommend this book for first grade up to fifth grade.

[Alecia · Rating 5 out of 5]

A perfect non fiction read aloud to read with my daughters in October.

The illustrations are absolutely beautiful, frame worth almost - more so than the cover would suggest.

The explanation about leaves changing color was explained quite clearly to readers of any age, and I like that it included some hands on follow up activities for leaf pressing and rubbing as the final page.

[Keann Moncrieffe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was an excellent book for teaching others about leaves. I thought it went well into detail about it, making it interactive, and the colors of the pages are very bright and vibrant. I liked it a lot. Overall, I thought it was a great book, and helped teach me a little about leaves.

[Alyssa Ricard · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was more of an educational book, although it was still playful especially with the activity in the back of the book. This would be perfect for learning parts of plants and leaves and trees. The illustrations were helpful and full of color

[SaraKat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book that answers the question posed in the title very well. I liked the inclusion of different leaf types in the illustrations. The art is great and the sunset sky on p. 12/13 was especially nice.

[Ashley Humphreys · Rating 3 out of 5]

A pretty decent educational book about leaves and colors changing. Probably best suited for 2nd-5th graders. A little wordy, but would be ideal to take along for a leaf hunt to try to identify some of the leaves in the book. Illustrations were cute.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

AR 3.7

[Ibrieal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very colorful and informative. It will grab the attention of younger students and inspire to learn most about autumn.

[Cristi Schwamb · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much more informative than I thought it would be. Now I know why the fall colors are prettier some years.

[Kinley Kaelin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Educational book that teaches students about leaves and all of their parts! Beautiful illustrations.

[Esther May · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like these lets read and find out science books. They are a good introduction to so many different science topics.

[IUS-F19 Bryce Cross · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a great read aloud during the fall season. It teaches young readers about why the colors of the leaves change and why they fall.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Long.

[Christine Poston · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book! Great illustrations

Great book! Informative and well written. The illustrations are beautiful too. A good book for a science unit for Autumn, trees and leaves.

[Laura The Book Reader · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good children's book

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little long.

I think it's a bit confusing when talking about the pigments when it talks about red pigments that turn leaves red and also make beets red.

No story -- just straight factual.

[Mellanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good science lesson for younger kids.

[Victoria Vidals · Rating 1 out of 5]

its like 1st grade and easy.

[Kathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book when your readers ask about the changing color of the fall leaves!