ALA Booklist (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Poetry, wordplay, and two scurrying gray squirrels present a delightful romp through the autumn season. Using fall (instead of -ful) allows poet Hall to create themes for subjects: "Peacefall," "Plentifall," "Helpfall," and so on. Utilizing a palette of rust, orange, brown, and shades of green, the acrylic paint and soft pastel illustrations use blocky geometrics that pop against the white background. Apples and fall vegetables are harvested for market as the leaves change colors, and a bright "Frightfall" showcases bats, little monsters, and ghosts. Later, "Thankfall" shows geese and birds enjoying a yummy feast in November. While children and parents rake leaves, raccoons, foxes, and deer forage with the approach of cold weather, anticipating the final surprise of "Snowfall!" Children will delight in following the two squirrels, who appear on every double-page spread, as they scamper and play in the trees, sequestering acorns. Two ending pages give factual material about nine of the animals shown, while the following two pages are devoted to squirrel behavior and their predilection for acorns.

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

An oak tree, with cutout leaves and a pair of squirrels cavorting through its branches, narrates Hall-s (Frankencrayon) pensive story, watching as autumn arrives. In a bit of seasonal punning, the title of each free-verse poem substitutes the word fall for the suffix -ful. In -Peacefall,- the oak-s acorns drop, -plink, plunk, plop.- In -Dutifall,- the tree notices schoolchildren carrying knapsacks waiting beneath it: -The busy/ yellow/ bus is/ back.- Slowly the tree-s leaves change color and drop (the poems- verticality echoes this action), and after the last leaves have fallen and geese fly south, three spreads herald another seasonal change: -Will/ this night... bring/ the/ first... snowfall!- Hall-s crisp, graphic digital collages provide plenty to talk about, and the puns add another layer of interest. Ages 4-8. Agent: Anna Olswanger, Olswanger Literary. (Sept.)

School Library Journal (Mon Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

PreS-Gr 2 Hall explores the joys of autumn on a farm from the perspective of an oak tree. Each page features a spread with the aforementioned tree on the right, plus a few ubiquitous squirrels, as the season changes. Each spread includes a short poem on the left page with a title that contains the word fall . The wordplay is clever, and older kids will feel bright when they get it. The youngest might not get the joke, but it isn't necessary to enjoy the book. The tree and squirrels witness many things: apple harvest ("Plentifall"), fall colors of the farmer's market ("Beautifall"), a parade ("Eventfall"), and Halloween ("Frightfall"). Children play in the falling leaves, a wicked wind blows, the family cleans up, geese migrate, and, finally, "Snowfall." Hall's bold digital illustrations have the look and feel of pictures made from construction paper shapes. He uses basic shapes and designs combined with plenty of white space and autumn colors to perfectly encapsulate the theme of the work. VERDICT An excellent seasonal addition, great for storytime and as a catalyst for poetry writing or artwork. Catherine Callegari, Formerly at Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH