Dianna Hutts AstonCritiques

I love these illustrations. They’re so bright and colorful that kids are going to want to turn page after page. This song rhymes well, has a great cadence, and moves happily along. The one thing that I find is weird is every stanza starts with bless. Bless this, bless that. There’s no wrap up. There’s no understanding of what it means to bless. Is this a religious book or is this a word being used in place of something the author can’t name? Overall, I like this book and I can see getting checked out a lot, but I do find it a little odd.

Nests comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes. They're hot and noisy until...they're quiet. Beautifully illustrated to show the variet and wonder of different nests, with additional text on the information behind the images.

Driven by his desire to "do something big," Italian immigrant Simon Rodia creates a series of massive sculptures from rebar beams, cement and a wealth of broken tile, glass and other found objects in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles. Observed by a young neighbor, and then her children, he works for decades to create something wonderful, before eventually leaving the neighborhood, never to be heard from again...

Dream Something Big: The Story of the Watts Towers is the tenth book I have read from picture book author Dianna Hutts Aston, whose work on such titles as An Egg Is Quiet and A Rock Is Lively I greatly admire. Although told from the perspective of a fictional neighbor, the story here is a true one—Simon Rodia did exist, and so too did (and does!) his massive folk sculpture. I enjoyed learning a little bit more about the Watts Towers and their creator, as I have long been aware of this folk art monument, but didn't know too much about it. I still don't know very much about Rodia—apparently not much is known—but I do feel I have a better appreciation for the art he created. The story here emphasizes the role of creativity and art in the lives of ordinary people, and is well-matched by the collage illustrations of Susan L. Roth, whose work I have encountered before, in Joseph Bruchac's The Great Ball Game: A Muskogee Story. All in all, this was an engaging, thought-provoking book, one that both entertains and informs. I appreciated the story and the visuals, and particularly liked that there was a craft section at the back, to help children make their own small Watts Towers. Recommended to young artists and sculptors, and to anyone searching for children's stories about the Watts Towers or folk art in general.

Really nice illustrations, descriptions and identifications of rocks, as well as information as to how they are formed and used. Interesting for adults to read to children, or for intermediate readers to read on their own.

Explores the many shapes, sizes, and colors of seeds as you learn about them. Seeds are secretive, fruitful, naked, adventurous, generous, and more.

I love this series and I have always loved shells so this might be my favorite book by this team. Great reference book. Clever layout. In the front endpapers a bunch of shells are shown. Inside they are part of the contents and the back endpapers have the same shells that are shown in the front but this time they are labeled with their names. This picture book is packed with information. This isn’t a story book. It’s a reference book, but it is interesting and it’s not just a nature book but also addresses art, history, cultural issues. Children who are fascinated by shells/the natural world will probably love this book. Lovely illustrations, some whimsy and playfulness but mostly facts. This is one I’d love to own and to be able to share with children. 4-2/3 stars

Describes many qualities of eggs such as color, shape, size, and texture, with beautiful illustrations of eggs of all shapes, sizes, and colors.The basic text of the book is simply, with one line per page spread, but there's additional information throughout. Can be read to suit small children or interested older children.

Author Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrator Sylvia Long, a team which has produced a number of beautiful works of picture book natural history, return in this seventh collaboration, this time turning their attention to those marvelous calcium carbonate homes known as shells. As in the earlier titles from this duo, there is a dual narrative structure here, with a simple, poetic text describing what shells are—"A shell is cozy... A shell is showy. A shell is hatched and protective"—accompanied by a more detailed look at specific topics such as the various forms shells take, the life cycle of the creatures which live in shells, all the places they can be found, and so much more...

Pairing an informative and engaging text with beautiful illustrations, A Shell Is Cozy is another triumph from this pair, and is a book I would heartily recommend to all young animal and nature lovers. As always, I loved Sylvia Long's use of color and form, in her detailed ink and watercolor artwork. The decorative "endpapers"—not actually in the place of the endpapers, so they won't be obscured by library stickers or taped-down dust-jackets—show a gorgeous array of shells, unlabeled at the front and labeled at the rear. I also appreciated the fact that author Dianna Hutts Aston included mention of how humans use shells, once their original inhabitants are no longer in them, and that she mentioned the Watts Towers in Los Angeles, constructed out of (amongst other things) shells. I know she wrote an earlier picture book on this subject, Dream Something Big: The Story of the Watts Towers, and I hope to track that down next, of her titles. Published last year (2023), this one is the last of these "Nature Books" from Aston and Long I had yet to read, and I am glad to have completed the set. That being said, I certainly hope more such titles will be forthcoming! Examining the natural world through these themed picture books is both fun and educational.

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Author Dianna Hutts Aston and illustrator Julie Maren join forces in this lovely picture book about the journey of an orange, from blossom on a tree, in a "land that glowed with spring light," to luscious fruit being harvested and transported far from its origin place. Selected at a grocery store by a young boy one January, the orange is shared by a group of friends, who enjoy its sweet taste while playing in the snow...

I greatly enjoyed An Orange in January, both for the thoughtful, engaging narrative and for the lush, gorgeous artwork. I have read a number of Aston's other picture books—notably, her An Egg Is Quiet and its many wonderful companions—but this is the first time I have encountered Maren's artwork. Sadly, it would appear that this is one of only two books she has illustrated. In any case, I think this would be an excellent title to use with younger children, in order to explore the theme of food, from source to table, particularly in an the context of food which must travel long distances to reach its destination. For my own part, I hope to track down more titles from Aston, as well as the other picture book from Maren.

Beetles, those little winged creatures who, with their approximately 400,000 known species, make up 40% of insects worldwide, and 25% of all known animal species, are the subject of this lovely picture book from Diana Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, the author/illustrator team responsible for such titles as An Egg Is Quiet, A Seed Is Sleepy, A Butterfly Is Patient, A Rock Is Lively, and A Nest Is Noisy. As with those earlier books, here there is a dual format, with a poetic macro-narrative that gives general, descriptive information—"A beetle is shy. A beetle is kaleidoscopic. A beetle is colossal... or microscopic"—and a micro-narrative that imparts more details. Topics touched upon include the beetle's life genesis from egg to fully-formed insect, the varying sizes of beetles, where in the world they can be found (all over!), their activities, forms of self-defense, and lots more...

As with its predecessors, I greatly enjoyed A Beetle Is Shy, appreciating its dual narrative approach, which I think makes the subject accessible to children at a variety of stages, drawing them in with the more poetic narrative and then giving them more information. As always with this series of books, I also loved the accompanying watercolor artwork, with its beautifully vivid color palette, and its many charming little details. The decorative first and last pages here (not the endpapers, which might be covered up by taped-down dust-jackets in library copies) were as lovely as ever, depicting a variety of beetle species. All that being said, I couldn't help but feel, as I finished the book, that it didn't quite live up to some of the earlier books from this team. It's somewhat shorter, and seems to cover less. It also struck me that some of the information one discovers later on in the book, such as what makes a beetle a beetle, distinguishing it from other kind of insects, might have been better placed toward the beginning of the book. Leaving that aside, this is still a beautiful and engaging book, one which could introduce young children to the wonders of the world's coleopteran species. It is for that purpose that I would recommend it, perhaps to be followed up by a title giving a more specific and comprehensive treatment to the topic.

Diana Hutts Aston and Sylvia Long, the author/illustrator team who produced a series of beautiful and informative picture books exploring various aspects of natural history for children—An Egg Is Quiet, A Seed Is Sleepy, A Butterfly Is Patient and A Rock Is Lively—return in this fifth title, this time examining nests. As with the previous titles in this vein, there is a dual format here, with a simple, poetic macro-narrative—"A nest is noisy. It is a nursery of chirp-chirping... buzzing... squeaking... peep-peeping... bubbling... babies"—and a more informative micro-narrative, giving more details about the diverse range of nests being presented. From birds to hornets, cactus-protected to stream-bed-located, created from gathered materials or from substances made by the parents themselves, a wealth of different nests is explored...

As with its predecessors, A Nest Is Noisy pairs an entertaining and educational narrative with absolutely gorgeous illustrations. I appreciated the fact that a variety of nests were included, as I think some children may incorrectly assume that only avian species raise their young in this way. I also appreciated the way in which the narrative emphasizes both the commonalities and differences in these various nests—a duality to be found in all of these nature books from Aston and Long. The artwork is, as always with Sylvia Long, a pleasure to peruse, with gorgeous use of color, and beautifully-captured animals and nests. The decorative endpapers—a lovely feature of all of Aston and Long's books—here show nests at the front and hatched young creatures at the rear, but here they have been placed in interior spreads, with more generic decorative endpapers (with what looks like nest material) at the actual front and rear. I would imagine this design decision was made because otherwise the beautifully decorative endpapers might be partially obscured by dust-jackets, which in certain circumstances (such as with library books) cannot be lifted. All in all, this was a worthy follow-up to its creators' other books, and has whetted my appetite to track down the two subsequent titles (I have a little catching up to do). Recommended to young nature lovers, and to anyone who is an admirer of Sylvia Long's amazing artwork.

Learn about lots of different caterpillars, their life cycle, and the butterflies they turn into.

Beautiful drawings in this nice non-fiction book. I learned the names of dozens of species of butterflies!

- Age: Primary

- All about butterflies and their journey from caterpillar to butterfly. It also has overarching themes of patience, and helpful and more.

- I love this book, because it is so informative about butterflies, and it relates to humans as we can be patient, helpful, and magical just like them.

A gorgeously illustrated informational text about the wide variety and functions of butterflies. Each page presents a new quality of a butterfly with labeled illustrations of new butterflies. Does not have diagrams or go in depth about the life cycle of a butterfly. I can see this being used in k-3rd to introduce the basic qualities of a butterfly before doing a related activity like hatching cocoons.

This book was incredibly educational! It also boasted SPECTACULAR illustrations of numerous species of butterflies and caterpillars. It showed the lifecycle of butterflies and shared lots of cool facts while still remaining interesting and engaging. I would love to have this in my classroom library if I taught K-2nd, but I would refrain from using it in my practice because it does talk about evolution and uses the "millions-of-years-ago-worldview" that I as a Christian cannot support. Aside from that, it was a beautiful book and I think children would be fascinated with it!

The art is lovely, and I like the way encourages us to think beyond birds when we think about nests.

Beautifully illustrated exploration of rocks with lyrical text.

Lovely art and good scientific concepts.

A beautiful story of a young girl's thoughts about the miracle of space travel and the navigation of the spaceship The Eagle.
It was July 20, 1969 and Mae is very much inspired by Neil Armstrong and his first step on the moon. She and neighborhood children pulled together odds and ends and built a make-believe space ship.

This book brought back memories watching this occurrence at the local drug store. The moment was somber. It was quiet as we were fixed to the tv and the miracle of space travel.

President John F. Kennedy vowed to make America the first in making space travel possible. Sadly, he was not alive to see Neil Armstrong place his foot on the surface of the moon. Neither was he alive to hear the voice of Walter Cronkite emotionally stating

"Neil Armstrong, thirty-eight year old American, standing on the surface of the moon, on this July twentieth, nineteen hundred and sixty-nine."

And then, 600 million people were transfixed to the tv, hearing the voice of Neil Armstrong saying:

"That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind."

There would be other journeys into space, one with tragic consequences during the launch, another when men died inside the spaceship during routine testing. The others though, were miraculously launched successfully and American citizens were glued to their TV to watch additional flights of success.

But, none could take the place of Neil Armstrong's voice as his boot made contact with the surface of the moon.½

This is a very good book about the moon landing. Told lyrically, it illuminates the experience of watching the moon landing in 1969. It captures not only the excitement, but also the division that existed over the value of the moon landing. The grandfather in the story offers a alternate perspective on the issue. It's well done.

Although I don't know much about butterflies, I think they are very pretty! Literally my little knowledge of butterlies comes from animal crossing, which is why I was surprised that I didn't see the colorful (male) version of the Queen Alexandra butterfly. It was really cool to see the size difference though between the Queen Alexandria and the Arian Small Blue. I also did not know that they formed a puddle club.
The illustrations are amazing!

Beautiful illustrations and story!

Mature reader. Filled with information about seeds

This book is perfect for children in primary school as it explores the fascinating world of seeds showing them having unique characteristics such as being adventurous, inventive, and even sleepy. I plan to incorporate this book into my science lesson on nature as it's both informative and engaging, making it an ideal teaching tool. With its captivating illustrations, fonts, and colors, the book not only educates but also entertains young readers.