Tweedle dee dee

Enhanced descriptions from Syndetics:

Come into the woods where the green leaves grow around and around - and high in the branches, a nest is full of cheeping. Charlotte Voake's art captures the wonder of a wood bursting into life.

Reviews provided by Syndetics

Publishers Weekly Review

Pages washed with pale green and covered with squiggly line drawings and watercolors instantly identify this book, an interpretation of the traditional English folk song "The Green Leaves Grew Around," as the work of veteran illustrator Voake (Hello Twins). The minimal textinvites a read-aloud--and even before arriving at the musical score on the final spread, readers are likely to find themselves singing. The language is circular: the chorus "and the green leaves grew around, around, around, and the green leaves grew around" returns on every other page, until the pattern is interrupted by a triumphant "Tweedle-Dee-Dee!" from a just-hatched bird. The rhythm echoes the visual one of the pages--in subdued hues of green, brown, gold and peach--that is suddenly disrupted by a colorful blast of three turquoise robin's eggs. Adding interest to the enormous tree and its many leaves that dominate the art, a girl and boy enjoy a picnic, then play with forest creatures. Their presence and activity offer a secondary plot that should help retain the audience's interest. Ages 3-5. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 2-Voake reveals the dainty signs of spring in watercolor and ink illustrations that accompany the traditional folk song, "The Green Grass Grew All Around." Alert squirrels watch a straw-hatted girl with a younger boy and a black cat as they stroll around and picnic under "the finest tree you ever did see." While this crew interacts, a spotty-breasted mother bird hatches, then feeds her offspring. The song's music and lyrics fill the end pages. Voake's light touch and array of green shades convey the very breezes of the day, where just stretching one's arms to mimic tree branches brings on a smile. Prepare, also, to be enchanted by three blue eggs with white dots that become a trio of singers who wrap up the tale with a final "Tweedle-Dee-Dee!" The large spreads will ensure successful storytime sharing, even if you're not a singer.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Booklist Review

Voake creates her own picture-book version of the traditional cumulative folk song The Green Grass Grew Around,  featuring rhyming verses in which The birds were in the eggs, the eggs were in the nest, the nest was on the branch, the branch was on the tree, and so on. Oversize double-page spreads offer plenty of scope for Voake's loose, lyrical ink drawings, washed with watercolors in muted greens and tans with touches of blue. Created with apparent spontaneity and grace, the appealing pictures show a boy, a girl, and their cat picnicking beside a large tree where a pair of squirrels cavort and three birds in a nest hatch, and the air is soon filled with their song.  Music is provided on the back endpaper; the verses can be sung, making this a lovely addition to spring and summer storytimes.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2008 Booklist

Horn Book Review

With loosely drawn watercolor and ink illustrations and a text based on the traditional English folk song "The Green Leaves Grew Around," Voake beautifully evokes springtime. The illustrations focus on two children playing under a tree and baby birds hatching in the branches above. The song's words and music are printed on the back endpapers. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Kirkus Book Review

With quick, sketchy strokes of pen and brush, Voake creates a massive tree with birds and squirrels in the branches and two children setting up a picnic below as a setting for her lightly reworked version of the cumulative folksong most commonly called "The Green Grass Grew All Around." To a refrain that goes "The green leaves grew around, around, around..." she focuses attention on a particular branch, a certain nest, three blue eggs and at last a nestful of warbling (see title) hatchlings. Parts of the simple musical arrangement printed on the rear endpapers are covered by the flap, but the tune will be easy enough to pick up; share this simple, joyous celebration of Spring, of leaves and of new life in general with younger children, and they'll be singing along in no time. (Picture book. 3-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.