School Library Journal
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PreS-Gr 2—Lance the cottonwood leaf is a phenomenal student who excels at everything—budding, wind resistance, photosynthesis, and pigment changing. He is always at the top of his class. However, Lance begins to worry as his final exam in falling off the tree in autumn approaches. He is afraid of landing in unwelcoming places and hangs on until he is the very last leaf. Lance's teacher and classmates reassure him and, nervously, Lance eventually takes the leap. A confidence-boosting picture book for early childhood and elementary students, this illustrates that even the most confident and seemingly successful people have vulnerabilities. Lance learns to be comfortable with his authentic self and lets go of his fears and insecurities—his schooling has prepared him for this. Lance and the other leaves are large and prominent in the warm gold, green, and brown autumnal scenes, personifying all of the angst and bravado of the elementary school scene. VERDICT A great choice for addressing social emotional development in the areas of anxiety and perfectionism, and as a bonus, scientific facts about Lanceleaf Cottonwoods are included.—Amy Shepherd, St. Anne's Episcopal Sch., Middleton, DE

Kirkus
Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

How do leaves know when to fall? Lance Cottonwood is the sharpest leaf in school. He aces all his courses, including Budding, Wind Resistance, Photosynthesis 101, and Pigment Changing. The autumn semester brings anxiety, though. How will he pass the final exam and float effortlessly from his tree to the ground as he’s supposed to? Lance has a big problem for a leaf: He’s afraid of falling. He makes excuses for not doing it, then determines to emulate an evergreen cluster and remain tree-bound all winter. After a kindly teacher helps him overcome his fears, he decides to just do it. With encouragement from teacher and schoolmates, Lance lets go and lands on the ground safely. This jaunty, endearing autumn story might help anxious youngsters confront their own apprehension at facing worrisome experiences. Even though Lance literally lets go, he doesn’t let go of his fears but rather understands and accepts them—and performs the scary activity anyway, feeling proud of himself afterward. Besides reassuring readers, the tale provides some facts about trees. Autumn-colored display type, sometimes capitalized, appears throughout to express Lance’s and other characters’ dialogue. The charming illustrations depict sweet-faced, expressive, heart-shaped Lance and fellow leaves rendered in fall colors. A fact-based “progress report” for Lance appears on the final page. A reassuring story that should leave readers feeling a bit more self-confident. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright © Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.