Lets us take a nature journey through a year. We are going to see how the earth changes as the seasons unfold. We are going to meet all kinds of plants and animals and we are going to see how they adapt their ways to suit each season.

In the spring a Desert Tortoise trundles out of its winter burrow to look for food in the welcome sun. Spring is a time for celebration. So much excitement and newness fills the air that it is almost as if the whole natural world is participating in a grand party.

In the fall each animal “seems to know/harsh storms will soon begin” and they get ready for winter collecting food and building nests.

Exquisite illustrations, charming little poems, and a well written text make this book a wonderful tool for parents and teachers to use to teach their children about the seasons and the beauty of nature. At the end of each season chapter readers and their grown-ups will find a section of activities that they can do in that season. In spring they can save materials that birds can use to build their nests and they can make a pretty flower mobile to hang up. In the summer they can set up a bird bath and make Sunshine Tea. In the fall they can do leaf tracings and plant a tree.

All in all this is a beautifully produced book which celebrates the wonders of nature in a lyrical, informative, hands-on way giving children the means to see and experience the natural world around them.

— Through The Looking Glass Children’s Book Review(June 2006)

Author/illustrator Diane Iverson introduces the young child to the wonders of the changing seasons in Discover the Seasons. Rich illustrations and sensitive poetry vividly capture the unique spirit of each part of the year: celebration for spring, learning for summer, work for fall and rest for winter. Each theme is then explored through hands-on activities that adults and children can share. Tasty recipes using freshly gathered fruits and vegetables provide the final irresistible highlight for each season.

— Barjon’s Newsletter (November 2009)

A celebration of spring, learning about summer, working in the fall & resting in winter.

Author/illustrator Diane Iverson introduces the young child to the wonders of the changing seasons. Her rich illustrations & charming poetry vividly capture the unique spirit of each part of the year with hands – on activities for adults & children to share.

Turtles & hummingbirds,
deer & butterfly,
unfurling leaves & blossoms
bring the brightness of spring.

Foxes & raccoons,
swans & prairie dogs,
berries & seeds
herald the heat of summer.

Squirrels & geese,
bear & woodpecker,
nuts & tumbling leaves
mean autumn is on the way.

Cedar Sapwings & Elk,
bobcat & hare,
snow & cold
signals winter has come to stay.

Discover the Seasons is a wonderful way to draw your youngsters’ attention to the Turning of the Wheel, to stretching their memories & filling their eyes with glorious images.

Beautifully done!

— RebeccaReads.com (April 20, 2003)

Brief rhyming verses adorn bright, beautiful illustrations representing each season. This book gives you lovely poetry and artwork to stimulate discussions about seasonal changes, and each of the four sections includes related follow-up activities and recipes you may want to try with your children.

— The Mailbox – Kindergarten (Oct/Nov 2001)

This isn’t your ordinary book about the cycle of the seasons. But then again, Dawn Publications isn’t your ordinary publisher either. Dedicated to helping children and adults “. . . experience a sense of unity and harmony with all life”, this publisher obviously puts a lot of time and thought into its high quality award-winning books.

Discover the Seasons is a very special book about the wonders of the changing seasons that is meant to be shared by adults and children alike. Each of the four seasons is captured in sensitive poetry and colorful prose, accompanied by seven pages of breathtaking watercolor illustrations depicting nature at its finest and most intimate.

Diane Iverson explores the unique spirit of each season – celebration for spring, learning for summer, work for fall and rest for winter, and two pages of super hands-on activities follow each seasonal theme (using recycled materials). For example, Things to Do in the Spring includes Color Search, Bird Nests, Wildflower Gardens, Map Your Garden, Garden Labels, Receipt for Hummingbirds, and a Spring Flower Mobile.

. . . Discover the Seasons is a highly recommended book for classrooms and home libraries about nature, ecology and conservation that will be savoured by parents, teachers and children

— Home and School News

Cayden’s comments:
In Discover the Seasons they talk about all of the seasons: Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. First, they have poems about each season. One of the summer ones is about a red fox and then there is one about cygnets. I didn’t know that word before but it means that it is a baby swan. I liked that under the poems they told about the animals.

My favorite part of Discover the Seasons was the part that had the projects in it. We are going to do some of the spring ones when the snow melts. One of them that I want to do is the one that says “Bird Nests.” We need to collect things that birds can use to make nests, like the lint in the dryer. Then we put it in a basket and hang it outside and birds will use it to make nests! There are also recipes in the book too. The Peanut Butter Candy one looks good, but that is in the fall part, so we are going to wait until fall to make it.

— Kids Reader Views – Cayden Aures (age 6.5) and Mom (March 2011)