Faith means coming back, even in times of discouragement. The little boy and his friends worry that maybe the birds have eaten the seeds, or the bears have stomped too hard around them. Fogliano and Stead honestly show that faith is not always easy.

The young protagonist cannot see the sprouts within the seeds he plants he only believes that they will spring forth out of the earth. When Thomas demanded to see the wounds in the Lord’s hands, Jesus immediately showed him, but Jesus went on to say, “Because you have seen me, you have believed blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29) And Then It’s Spring would be a great springboard for talking about faith with children. Even Jesus appreciated how tied we are to the concrete. Theological conversation partners: Theological terms like belief and faith are difficult for children (and adults!) to understand. How does the perspective on gender/race/culture/economics/ability make a difference to the story? A bespectacled young boy is the only human pictured in this book his partners in springtime planting are a rabbit, a turtle, and a large brown dog. Each double-page spread shows the same small plot of earth as it changes, ever so slowly, throughout the season of waiting. It is Erin Stead’s illustrations of the unnamed setting, though, that give this book its real power. Literary elements at work in the story: Fogliano writes evocatively of the rhythms of nature and of the difficulty of remaining hopeful in the face of the brown of early spring. The seeds take a long time to grow, and the waiting is mixed with both anxiety and with hope. Summary: A little boy and three animal friends plant seeds in the early spring.

And Then It's Spring by Julie Fogliano