Product Description

It's fall again, and time for Jim and Andy to help their dad run Fred's Fall Color Tours. The tourists they shuttle around are "Leaf Peepers"--and, boy, do those Peepers love to ooh and aah about the dumbest things. Leaves, trees, pumpkins. Bo-o-ring. But this yerar, even as they poke fun at the Peepers, Jim and Andy can't help but notice how the leaves floating in the river look like a brilliantly colored island, and how the spiky tree branches seem to sweep the clouds across the night sky. Maybe the Peepers aren't so silly after all.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #595811 in Books
• Published on: 2001-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

From Publishers Weekly
In this somewhat sleepy story by the creators of Your Move, the young narrator and his brother, Jim, help their father with his business, bus rides for "Leaf Peepers" to view the fall foliage. The boys roll their eyes at the Peepers' awe and playfully mock their inevitable remark: "Oh!... Look! Look, how beautiful!" Though the brothers discover several diverting sights, for the most part they remain quite bored with the tour (which includes stops at a pond, cemetery, river and pumpkin patch) and readers may feel the same. As tourist season ends and Bunting's (Gleam and Glow, reviewed above) story winds to a close, the youngsters sit outdoors one chilly evening, admiring the starlit sky. Admitting his embarrassment at letting down his guard, the narrator notes, "I guess our winter sky is always like this, but I just never noticed. I'm seeing it now the way the Peepers would see it." At their best, Ransome's acrylic paintings present lifelike portraits of the characters and glimpses of vibrant fall colors dotting the landscape. Yet the vivid colors do not completely compensate for the uneventful plot. Ages 6-9.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Gr 1-3-Jim and Andy are obliged to help their father run Fred's Fall Color Tours in New England in October. Andy narrates in the present tense as they ride their bus through the familiar environs with the "Leaf Peepers." They think that everything is beautiful and photo-worthy, and the brothers snicker and mimic their superlatives behind their backs. Ransome's acrylic paintings are brightly realistic, capturing the brilliance of a fine rural autumn day. The intent of the story seems to be that the boys learn to appreciate the natural beauty around them in spite of themselves; however, they become aware of this only on the last two pages and, since they are embarrassed by their feelings, readers are likely also to be uncomfortable and unconvinced.

Carolyn Jenks, First Parish Unitarian Church, Portland, ME

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist
Ages 5-8. Every fall Jim and Andy work with their father, who runs Fred's Fall Color Tours. They help him take care of the truck and guide the tourists around their picturesque village. The boys don't understand why anyone would want to take a tour of fall leaves, and they make fun of the tourists, especially their love of nature. This year, though, the boys slowly start to see some of the beauty they've always taken for granted, and by the end of the book, they're almost as sappy as the tourists themselves. The acrylic illustrations are lush and colorful, evoking fall so well you can almost smell the bonfires. A good introduction to both New England and the joys of nature. Marta Segal
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

A REMINDER OF EARTH'S BEAUTY
We're reminded of the beauty of a New England autumn by the warm russet dappled illustrations by James Ransome and the interplay between two brothers as they witness the reactions of tourists or, as they call them, "Leaf Peepers."

In the fall it's Jim and Andy's job to help their Dad get their small green bus out of the shed and spend their weekends helping with the loads of tourists who come to see the gorgeous red and yellow leaves. The bus is always full, which is good, but Jim and Andy can surely think of better things to do.

Sometimes they get a little over zealous in imitating what they call "Peeper talk," after all, they can't see anything so amazing about the ponds, trees, and changing leaves. Or, can they?

Once again, the perspicacious Eve Bunting reminds of what is important and beautiful on this amazing planet Earth.

- Gail Cooke

Autumn Delight
James Ransome's wonderful illustrations make this Eve Bunting book a delight! A great read-aloud for my fourth grade class, we have become "peepers" at school, and have created an autumn leaf tree display in our classroom. Now, my students join the other peepers in "Ooh's and Aah's".

Autumn Delight
James Ransome's wonderful illustrations make this Eve Bunting book a delight! A great read-aloud for my fourth grade class, we have become "peepers" at school, and have created an autumn leaf tree display in our classroom. Now, my students join the other peepers in "Ooh's and Aah's".