Children's book author's are often more concerned with keeping the rhyming cadence than using vocabulary children actually know. That's the case here. It's fine to have a word or two that your child doesn't know, but I'm third case, there were far too many and for such a simple story, it ruined it because my son kept asking what a word meant on almost every page. It just ruins the flow of the book.

When I first saw this book to review it looked super cute. I tried getting in on my Kindle app but it did not transfer well which always sucks. I got the book and read it - was not impressed. The cover looks adorable but once you see the artwork inside it does not compare. The story seemed stale and not fun. I would have thought for a kids book that it would have been a little better. It didn't make much sense either. Like I said, I was very disappointed.

Read it again! That's what the children will be saying after you read this delightful tale of cause and effect, as one creature after another disturbs the peace of the next creature in their path. Excellent use of a rhyming scheme. Read it out loud to yourself first to get the rhyming pattern ; ) !

It is unusual to find a non-fiction title with really great rhyming text. Leap fits this category perfectly. I would definitely use this book in my classroom.

This is an adorable story. I was little put off by the rhyme scheme, in fact, I needed to reread a few times just to find the correct flow. If you are reading this aloud for the first time, be prepared for lots of interruptions and explanations. There appears to be no distinct, middle, or end, but the illustrations do hold up nicely and serve to help move the story ahead.

Tried to download this on a number of devices and had no luck - therefore couldn't review

LEAP!

Land!

Twist and spin!

The bunny bounds out as the clouds roll in.

A dog gets a whiff

and barks at the wind –

bouncing, bouncing, springing

and lunging!

Down the bank that dog goes

plunging.

In this book a flea starts off a chain reaction of animals leaping, twisting, gamboling and spinning across the countryside as each bumps into the next.

This is a colourful picture book with rhyming text. It would be ideal for exploring with a younger child who is willing to spend time exploring the details hidden in the pictures and have fun discussing the language used – you could try leaping and twisting and moving in all of the different ways described in the book as well as coming up with your own words.

LEAP!

Crash

into the lake,

scaring the lake fish

wide awake.

They break the surface with a

flip, flop, shake!

What I liked: Beautiful illustrations and rich language.

Even better if: There isn’t much story or characterisation so some children will be left completely cold by this. Those who like the illustrations or enjoy playing with language may like it, but I imagine it will not hold much re-read value for children who are expecting a story with a distinct beginning, middle and end or characters they can get invested in.

How you could use it in your classroom: You could use this to introduce various words used to describe movement and have the children come up with their own movements and descriptive words in order to avoid all the characters in their stories simply standing, sitting and lying down. The pictures could also be used to make predictions about who will be affected next in the story, while the illustrations could serve as prompts for units about the Natural World.

(Review on blog will be posted on August 24th - link will go live then)

This book was an exciting and colorful book. I was immediately drawn to the illustrations, and they are a significant part of the book. This book will be great for storytimes and for read-aloud's as the kids can attempt to figure out what will happen next.

This fun circular, rhyming story starts with a flea, who leaps into a grasshopper's path; the startled grasshopper leaps onto a bunny. The action continues, involving a dog, bullfrog, horse, and finally, back to the dog and the flea. It's a fun story that would make for a good storytime read; get the kids up and jumping if you have more active storytimes, or bounce for lapsits. The cadence of the rhyme is fun and energetic, but I expected to see more spreads with the full animal leaping; there were a few where the right-side page showed the back end of a leap and it felt a little cut off, choppy, for me.

I'd add this to a storytime with Kalan 's Jump, Frog, Jump! and add some flannels for audience interaction.

A leaping flea sets off a chain of leaping animals.

The rhythm and rhyme of this is well done, making it a book excellent for reading aloud. I especially liked the illustration style. It was the right mix of beautiful and humorous. Kids are sure to laugh (especially at the horse). There’s a certain amount of repetition making this a good book for practicing making predictions (though watch out, there’s a twist!) or for little ones who want to “read” along. It should also help build vocabulary as there’s some rich words employed along the way. Read it with The Flea’s Sneeze for a compare/contrast activity. I’ll be putting this on the list of books to possibly get for our elementary library.

(This will be posted on GoodReads Aug 22, 2017.)

Leap!Leap! by JonArno Lawson
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Review:

Leap! by JonArno Lawson, is a whimsically illustrated fun ready. I love the flow of the wording and the creativity of the rymes. The story flowing in a fun and energetic way that encourages lots of participation, or can also be good for a one on one discussion. I read through the book 2 times because it was just a fun chain of events story with energy and an overall good feel.

Great for kids who like animal stories with colorful and whimsical illustrations. I LOVED this book.

A fun circular rhyming picture book with gorgeous illustrations of the various creatures and their worlds. Kids will love all the action words but as an adult reading it I did stumble on the rhythm here and there and some of the words like “trudgening” (google tells trudgen is a swimming stroke). I also forgot about the flea the story started with until it appeared again at the end. I would’ve liked it if we’d followed the flea the whole time until it finds its way to the dog. Or if it had appeared on each page somewhere for the kids to find (like in The Napping House). Overall, a cute story that kids will enjoy.

Fun read to share with kids. Great illistrations. Would recommend this book.

I gave this book three stars. The images are lovely and the rhymes used are good but I just felt that it was lacking. The images are nice and colorful pictures but it was a bit too whimsical for me and the story didn't really go anywhere.

Leap is a wonderful book all told in rhyme. It takes place on a farm the reader is introduced to various animals leaping. It all begins when a flea is bothered by midges and it sets off a chain reaction of leaping animals. After all the leaping, it ends with the flea once again, this time having a sleep. It is a fun, delightful book. It is beautifully illustrated in muted tones showing expression and action. The vocabulary is a bit difficult for little ones, so I would recommend this for children age 5 and up. Could be used as a mentor text for middle grade students showing reactions, inferencing and predicting as well as showing how rhyme or poetry can tell a story. A good book for school libraries.

This clever book with a circular storyline is filled with beautiful vocabulary to inspire delightful discussions during read alouds and beautiful launch points for writing lessons. The illustrations are stunning and a delight in their own right.

I can't wait to share this with a child!

You feel the animals LEAP across the pages! I love the wonderful poetic text and beautiful illustrations. A great read-aloud!

This fun circular story will put a smile on your face as you read it.

"A flea asleep/in the deep green moss/ nettled by midges/ wakes up cross, he starts to fidget/ and turn and toss. Lever-legs twitch to...
LEAP!

Let the leaping begin. It's like a game of leapfrog or tag - the flea to the grasshopper, over to the bunny, next on to the dog, then into the lake startling the fish, frog's turn now, up next is horse and you guessed it.... finally to home base.... back to dog again. Exhausted and together one more time dog and flea curl up and fall fast asleep. What a workout! Oh my!!

Written in rhyme and using wonderful, playful, motion words like glide, land, springing, bouncing, lunging, crash, flip, shake, slap, flash, and scramble just to cite a few, the reader is truly involved in the chase. The vocabulary is rich and the illustrations give visuals that make the words powerful. Kids will giggle and get involved in the story and may even try some of those moves themselves. All-in-all it is a book you will enjoy leaps... oops, I mean heaps!

A rhyming book that would be lots of fun at story time. It’s a chain reaction story where one flea’s leap causes the next animals leap, and the nest, so on and so forth. The rhymes do lose their cadence in some places, but not so much as to be disturbing. Overall, a joy to read with amazing illustrations.

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