The Story Goes on

by Aileen Fisher, Mique Moriuchi (Illustrator)

In this exquisitely illustrated picture book, one of America's foremost poets for young people describes the ongoing cycle of life. A seed sprouts and is quickly devoured by a bug. Then a bright green frog appears and makes a meal of the bug. And the story goes on....from bug to snake to hawk to hunter....until a seed begins to sprout. This wonderful poem deftly deals with a sensitive subject and is inventively illustrated by a prodigiously talented young artist.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Science, Nature, Childrens, Animals, Storytime

32 pages, Hardcover

First published August 13, 2004

About the author

Aileen Lucia Fisher was an American writer of more than a hundred children's books, including poetry, picture books in verse, prose about nature and America, biographies, Bible themed books, plays, and articles for magazines and journals. Her poems have been anthologized many times and are frequently used in textbooks. In 1978 she was awarded the second National Council of Teachers of English Award for Excellence in Poetry for Children.

Reviews

[Lisa · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't really know quite what to think of this book. I LOVED the illustrations, but the story itself was a bit abrupt and shocking to me for a children's book. I understand the point of the book is to depict the circle of life, but I still felt like it might be a bit harsh for some children

[Marjorie Ingall · Rating 5 out of 5]

SO BITTER that this is out of print. My favorite children's book about death. Beautiful, deep, unflinching, gorgeous to look upon.

[Jennie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Newspaper collage illustrations and brightly pasted squares of color make a visually handsome book. The cover is particularly attractive. Poem is easy to read and presents the life cycle devoid of heavy handed morals. Although the page where the hunter shoots the bird may be unsettling for some young children. Overall though, this book is a non-threatening way to introduce children to the concept of life and death

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was beautiful, though I'd hesitate to use it in programs as I think some parents might object to the scene where the farmer shoots the hawk. Otherwise it's a quite lovely circle of life story.

[Carson Gentry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was not what I expected when I started it. This book is a poem which adds a very cool element to the book. The book started out with a seed and then explained the circle of life throughout the rest of the book. It went from the seed to a plant, to a bug eating the plant, then to the frog eating the bug and so one until it got back to start again with a seed or a bug.

The illustrations were very good but older kids would understand the gruesomeness of what is actually happening in the book so isn't necessarily the best thing.

I think this book would be good to introduce kids to the circle of life and to ideas of death in a gentle way. This is something I would use in a first or second-grade classroom in a unit about wildlife and biomes.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry
k-2nd grade
This book does an excellent job describing lifecycles. There is a very unique artistic style presented in the images, almost like the objects have been cut out of newspapers or magazines, possibly demonstrating a different kind of "lifecycle" through the subtle idea of recycling. The poem has some nice rhymes and introduces some new vocabulary. I think this would be an excellent book to read in the classroom to teach about lifecycles.

[Cathie (ClassyLibrarian) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am so glad that I choose to review books before reading them to the storytime crowd.
I love the collage art in this book and the story was fine until the hunter came on the scene and shot the hawk, which is illegal.

Just didn't set well with me. Maybe a fox could have eaten the hawk or owl?
Just a heads up if you are thinking of using this for storytime.

[Tessa Duncan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story tells of the food chain and the circle of life. It showcases different animals and who eats who. Then it further explains how animal bones are broken down in order to help the earth. The illustrations and words tell the complete story of the food chain.

[Shaylee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry: I really really loved this book! The scrapbook-style illustrations were enhanced with occasional phrases being written in the sun's rays or in a spiral around the Earth. It is one long poem that describes the circle of life and how it is an eternal cycle.

[Abbie · Rating 2 out of 5]

This story starts off with the basics of the food chain and is told in an educational and rhyming manner. However, it felt inappropriate for a children's book once it got to the farmer shooting the hawk. The illustrations were lovely.

[Keri Rohr · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story goes on is a poetry book for grades 2-3. I think that this poem is very unique. It has its own twists and turns and made me laugh a few times. I really liked the ending of the book.

[Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Lauren Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Poetry
Grade- K-1

Before reading this book I went through and looked at all of the illustrations. These illustrations are amazing and one of my favorites. From there I also really love how the author wrote his words in the illustrations. They made the books come alive. Lastly, I really enjoyed how the poetry was added on as the pages continued. It started off with a simple concept and ran with it. All in all, I feel like this is a great book to add to my library.

[Aimee]

This book introduces the life cycle of a plant in the version of a poem. This style of writing will engage the student into reading this book.

This book reminded me of the old woman that swallowed a fly book. It has that same rhythm to the text. The seed is just beneath the earth waiting for the rain and sun to feed it. Then the bug finds the leaf to munch on for food. The bug is then eaten by a frog, and the frog is eaten by a snake. This goes on until it is compost from the last animal that has died after eating the others. The beetles come and mix the compost with the soil to support the next plant’s life. It is all very dramatic in this book, but students will learn a lot because it is easy to remember the cycle.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

My comments echo those of other reviewers. I was initially pleased when I spied this book buried in my poetry collection. It seemed perfect for incorporating science into our upcoming poetry celebration, especially with the bright and inviting illustrations and possible use for sequencing. However, I was stunned to see a hunter lurking behind a tree in one of the spreads, followed a picture of a gun barrel along with the caption "Bang! Bang!" I'm not opposed to realistic portrayals of the food chain or hunting and realize that this poem was published posthumously and that Ms. Fisher was an observer of nature. However, the explicit reference to shooting a hawk and the deliberate use of a gun barrel in the illustrations preclude this otherwise lovely book from use in the classroom.

[Elizabeth Woodruff · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story was written by Aileen Fisher and illustrated by Mique Moriuchi. The book explains the cycle of life. It starts off with the ant eating the leaves, then a frog eating the bug, then a snake, a hawk, a farmer, a fox, some crows, and lastly sextons to finish the cycle. The story goes on to say that after the long cycle of events, the story starts all over again. I liked this story.

The illustrations were not my favorite, but the smooth rhythm of Fisher's poetic writing was very well done. I wish that I had read a book like this when I was younger to help me better understand how plants grow and evolve.

This could be used for a lesson on explaining the evolution of natural life. I would recommend this book!

[Mary Taitt · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even though I'm a biologist, as well as a children's book writer, I'm not fond of this book with the hunter shooting the hawk, hello, illegal!!! Why are we encouraging horrible illegal behavior in kids? The hunter didn't even EAT the hawk (of course, the fox didn't, but maybe the FOX should have somehow caught the hawk (burdened by the snake.) The story is otherwise OK and the art is cute, but I would hesitate to read this over and over to a kid without a lot of talk about BAD ILLEGAL BEHAVIOR!

[Hannah Grosse · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well, for starters, I like rhymes, so that's a plus. Also, the pictures are cool, and the words do that cool thing where the sentences visually display what they say (So when speaking of the circle of life, the sentences actually form a circle on the page). Sorry I don't know what that's called, but it's really cool :) Also, I thought it was interesting that the book included a hunter, a human. Normally humans aren't included in life circles, so that was cool.

[Kayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Beautifully illustrated, but maybe a little much for really young kids. The depiction of a food chain in action was interesting for my almost-seven-year-old, but it was hard for my four-year-old to understand why the animals were dying. And I'll be honest, a little disturbing for me. Maybe if I had been prepared for what was in store...the cover doesn't give any indication that the content is of a realistic nature.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simple story about the cycle of life. It is easy to understand and despite the somewhat disturbing topic (animals being eaten or killed by another) it's not graphic, so younger children can learn without being frightened or grossed out. The illustrations are bold and bright with some mixed media incorporated into the design. It's a good book to read aloud with children. Recommend for ages 5-8.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This clever, poetic description of the circle of life depicts the food chain starting with a seed, carrying on through a bug, a frog, and so on, ending with a sexton beetle, enriched soil and a new plant growing. Colorful illustrations keep the story alive and the rhythm of the words keeps a good pace for readers, who have something to learn in this cleverly-told tale.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This poetry book has a simple explaination of food chains, from the bug eaten by the frog, eaten by the snake, who is captured by a hawk, who is shot by a man. It is a bit disturbing to see the cute animals get eaten, especially since the text is SO simple, but it would work for very beginning introductions to food chains.

[Jenna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a little brutal in taking us through the life-cycle. Eventually, everything was eaten by something else, which is what really happens. In the end, even the top of the food chain is taken down by man, but the cycle begins again with fertilization of a new plant. This would be a great book to base a lesson on the food-chain around.

[Meilina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Firstly, I love the illustration-indeed eye-catching. Start from ‘ Here’s where events will unroll one by one with….’ until the end of its poetic story telling about circle of life among a leaf and a bug, a hawk and a man, a frog and a snake, a coyote and a sexton..what a drama they make!!

[N · Rating 4 out of 5]

The food chain done well in rhyme with paint and newsprint collage. I would totally use this with older kids once they are over the "Bambi effect". .. and younger ones who aren't too sensitive towards death to illustrate the concept of from dirt we come and do return.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

5 stars for the super cute pictures. The rhyming text is nice. The only thing that really killed it for me, no pun intended, is slightly out of place hunter lurking behind a tree with a gun... That part just doesn't seem to fit with the rest of the story.

[Kevin Evans · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is excellent to teach what a population, community, habitat, decomposer, hebivore, carnivore, and herbivore area. This would be great to teach 4th grade science, and the ecosystems. I will be using this next week.

[Callie Risse · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a basic story about the food chain among animals. It would be great to introduce a new science unit. Mostly, I enjoyed this book because the illustrations were created using newsprint, and they were very interesting to me.

[Sandee Mariner · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations in this book were beautiful!

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Poetry
This is a huge poem in picture book format! The illustrations are fantastic.