This picturebook is a heartwarming story about a leaf that is struggling to let go and finish school together with everyone else, because it is scared to fail and of the future.
I loved the message this book sends that its better to finish late than never, and I especially loved the final page with the grade card! Will 100% use this in my future Primary School Teaching!

The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade shares the plight of Lance Cottonwood who soars through leaf school, but struggles with the final exam. He must let go of the tree in autumn and fall to the ground.

Wade has found a clever way to combine true facts about leaves with a story of success and fear. It's a story the all of us can relate to.

I read this book with my six year old daughter. We loved the pictures and she really liked the book. The books is about a leaf that learns how to grow, stay strong, change color, but needs to learn how to fall.

This book taught us how to let go of our fears. It is a great book for kiddos to learn to try something they are afraid of doing.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for the arc for my honest review!

I give Stef Wade 3 out of 5 birds for her picture book The Very Last Lead. I've read her other book about Pluto and enjoyed it so I was looking forward to this one from Netgalley. In all honesty this book was weird? Perhaps I was trying too hard to figure out which social issues she was tackling, but I didn't feel like it was clear. I thought death, suicide, being slow in school, and even homosexuality?? I couldn't tell you which one was the target. This was a fresh idea, but wasn't a home run for me. Perhaps read it and your child will get just what they need out of it. It's a take it or leave it book for me.

Thank you Netgalley for the advanced copy in exchange of my honest review!

I was able to read The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade for free from Netgalley for providing me with an advanced ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I read this book to my baby and she smiled at the end story.The story explain how Lance the Leaf is afraid to fall. It also teaches the educational information of photosynthesis while teaching the message that is ok to be fearful. Lance learns that is ok to be fearful as long as it does not stop you from completing your goals. The story has great morals and beautiful illustrations.

A leaf who is afraid to fall. Sometimes coming last can leave you feeling down and this book really normalizes that feeling. Letting you know that its ok and sometimes you can be scared.

This book made me cry as I was reading it to my 3 1/2 year old son. He has mild cerebral palsy. So he's not always the best or fastest or first to finish something. This book really hit home and made me realize that that's ok.

I've read a similar book by this author, and enjoyed it. This one was the same, I really enjoyed reading this, and can see it being great for any teacher or parent's library, especially for younger children.

I found this very cute. It contains both a bit of educational information on general plant life (photosynthesis, etc) and the message that even if you're scared or the last to do something, taking the leap is okay.
Maybe a tiny bit patronising, but it is a children's book so I think that's fine.
Also, the art style is adorable!

What a beautiful book! Attractive illustrations in an appropriate colour palette for the story being told, and clear, easy to read text, this is a lovely mix of accessible non-fiction and an encouraging tale that fosters confidence and well-being. It is ideal for young children and newly confident readers, and equally relevant for non US readers as it so clearly shows the seasonal change in deciduous trees.

The Very Last Leaf follows Lance Cottonwood, a young leaf, as he excels in learning all the basics of being a leaf, right up until it is time for leaves to fall from the tree. This very cutely illustrated book is ultimately about Lance dealing with uncertainty and fear and learning that it is okay to feel those things but we still have to try.

Although, the writing style was not for me, if you like plant puns and want to introduce some scientific terms to your children or young classroom, this might just be the book for you!

I read this book to my students because we are all big fans of Stef Wade! This book did not disappoint. They loved the story behind Lance Cottonwood's journey through building courage to pass his final exam. The ending with the added report card got a good laugh out of my class. Loved it!

Such a lovely book! I read it to my 3 1/2 year old nephew, and he actually sat through the whole thing!

Very cute book. My children (ages 6 and 2) seemed to really love it! I will
Be buying a hard copy for his class.

What a wonderful book! I absolutely loved the illustration style, and found the story to be fun and full of new facts about trees for my children. Lance is a leaf who is passing all of his lessons with flying colors, but becomes fearful when it is time for him to pass his last test - falling from his tree. Using this story, we learn the lesson that it is absolutely okay to be afraid to fail as long as that fear doesn't stop you from completing your goals.

Great story, great moral, beautiful artwork. All around a wonderful new book for the fall!

This book was adorable and had a great message, two things that are the key to a successful picture book. Wade definitely met her goals of providing a book for children to recognize fear and worry over being “the best.” The story was simple, fun, and something kids could relate too.

This book is really a hidden gem for science topics! With the book being about changing seasons and new experiences, I was pleasantly surprised to find concepts like wind resistance, photosynthesis, and pigments in leaves. So not only is this book great for every reason previously mentioned, it is also a great introduction into science topics about plants.

Why not five stars? I was trying to imagine using this book with a group of students or even a single child, and I knew it wasn’t a book you could simply read, explain the vocab, then walk away from. While the concept of the leaf taking classes and graduating is great, I think an adult reading the book would have to stop and explain these “school concepts.” And as the children get older, making them more aware of these concepts, you get further away from being able to use this book for those amazing science concepts. Having to give some back-story while reading a picture book is not deal breaker for me, but it is something to consider.

Overall, this picture book is amazing. I would definitely recommend for anyone with children who need some encouragement or for teachers/parents looking for a fun introduction to a lesson on plants.

The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade will be a good back-to-school book for kids. Lance Cottonwood is the brightest student in his class. He excels in everything, until it comes to exam time. You see, Lance is afraid to fall and he is afraid of failure. Luckily after speaking about his fears to his teacher, he feels much better and takes the leap! The Very Last Leaf will show kids it's okay to be scared, they don't always have to "get" things right away, and expressing their feelings can be really helpful.

The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade is a super cute, absolutely adorable children's read!

To start off this review, the cover alone is absolutely stunning. The soft oranges and reds to give a fall-like feeling - it's gorgeous. It screamed out to me and made me want to pick up this little book. The style felt very classic yet very modern all at the same time.

We follouw Lance Cottonwood, a little leaf, on his first day of school! He's doing great in school but he began to worry about his exams. His final exam, falling to the ground, was mortifying! Will he make it? Will he become brave? Will he be the last, little leaf? You'll have to read to find out!

This book was just the sweetest and it had a lovely, little message: Working hard, getting over fears and not giving up! Throw in the delightful pictures with soft colours, and you've got a real hit. I think kids and parents alike will adore this picture book and easily be able to find a book on it's shelf. I'd highly recommend it! I could also see educators and parents using this book for not only fears in general, but darker themes like death and losing someone. It can be seen as very dark though, if you take it the wrong way.

My favourite part of this book is the little progress report at the end for our leaf friend! It's so cute and quite amusing.

Four out of five stars!

Thank you to NetGalley and Capstone for giving me the opportunity to pick up this wonderful book!

The Very Last Leaf deals with fears that many people of all ages face and have to deal with, and author Stef Wade parts her wisdom in the form of a baby leaf from a Cottonwood tree. Wade smartly turns a leaf’s fear of falling into a lesson in perseverance, while also allowing young (and old) readers to know that it is okay to rely on your support system to help you through a difficult problem. I thought the illustrations were bright and colorful, however it was hard to differentiate between leaf characters because their facial features were too similar. I did like the added lesson in photosynthesis throughout the story as well, as I like for there to be easily understood facts for children to learn in a fun manner.

I received an ARC from the author and publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The Very Last Leaf by Stef Wade
Thank you to Net Galley and Capstone Publishing for the opportunity to read this advance copy for a fair and honest review.
Lance Cottonwood was the brightest student who excelled in every subject in school, such as Budding, Wind Resistance, Photosynthesis 101 and Pigment Changing. When the time comes for his final exam though, Lance loses his confidence to finish and may not be able to graduate! He is fearful and rethinks being a cottonwood leaf.
This book is a very good introduction for children to basic tree biology and has a wonderful section at the end of the book explaining these characteristics in a manner that children would enjoy. The artwork is colorful and in certain areas, it helps to describe the concepts in the book. Overall I enjoyed reading this book and my son was fascinated by the story and vibrant pages.
#TheVeryLastLeaf #NetGalley

This is a very adorable book in story and illustrations. We recommend this book. It starts out great with an interested idea of a leaf learning to be a leaf and doing well as he learns. But, while he is a good student he starts to worry when it is exam time and he is not sure he can do it. He just might be the very last leaf to accomplish what needs done to reach the goal, if he can even do it. He feels anxiety and fear. That is a lesson in this story teaching about these feelings and perhaps ways to deal with them. We also learn a few science words, that might be a bit big for little ones. It helps to have definitions in the back of the book. Fun book for the family, great for children and interesting way to educate for teachers. Many lessons are in this wonderful story from science to overcoming anxiety. It is a nice way to help children build confidence and learn some science along the way too. It doesn’t go into to much depth, but helps jump start the conversation and might help get children thinking of how to handle things if they are struggling.