A Leaf Can Be…

written by Laura Purdie Salas, illus by Violeta Dabija
2012 Millbrook Press
ISBN: 978-0-7613-6203-6

A leaf can be a…Shade spiller…Mouth filler…Tree topper…Rain stopper….Find out about the many roles leaves play in this poetic exploration of leaves throughout the year.

Awards and Honors

Bank Street Best Books; IRA Teachers’ Choice; NCTE Notable Children’s Book; Minnesota Book Award Finalist; Scholastic Book Club selection; Riverby Award for Nature Books for Young Readers; SCBWI Golden Kite Honor Book; Finalist for KRA’s Bill Martin, Jr. Picture Book Award; Nebraska Agriculture Foundation’s Book of the Month May 2018

How the Book Began

I love rhyming nonfiction picture books, and I was looking for a topic to write about. In paging through my other books, I came across a poem I wrote for Chatter, Sing, Roar, Buzz: Poems About the Rain Forest. It was about Honduran tent bats, which chew through ribs of large leaves. These tiny bats huddle along the spine of the leaf and the broken fronds fold down around them, sheltering them from rain and predators. How cool is that? It made me wonder what else leaves do, and it was fun to learn about all the purposes leaves serve in our world. And it was even more fun to write about them in rhyming couplets!

Book Trailer

Meet the Illustrator

Violeta Dabija lives in Moldova, a small Eastern European country I don’t think I had ever heard of! She works in traditional and digital media and often mixes them to produce delicate and atmospheric illustrations with a traditional feel. She has illustrated many children’s books, but I think this was her first U.S. book. I love the translucency, the quality of light in her work.

I am thrilled with Violeta’s stunning art for A Leaf Can Be…, and I was not surprised that Lerner chose one of her illustrations from this book for its electronic and print holiday cards! To see more of her work, please visit Violeta Dabija’s website.

Reviews of A Leaf Can Be…

Printable Leaf Can Be… Bookmarks

Teaching Guide

Literature Guide from Nebraska Agriculture in the Classroom

Watch a cool 3rd-grade art project inspired by A Leaf Can Be…

Common Core State Standards Activity Sheets