Summer Green to Autumn Gold: Unleashing Leaves' Hidden Colors, written and illustrated by Mia Posada. Millbrook, Thomas Allen and Son, 2019. $29.99 ages 8 and up

"Many leaves have mixtures
of yellow, orange, red and
brown pigments.

The world is a rainbow of
scarlet and orange, burgundy
and gold.

Soon the stems of the leaves
start to separate from the tree. The wind blows them loose."

The leaves on the trees in my front yard barely had time to begin turning color when a lashing rainstorm sent leaves flying and branches almost bare. The colors and cooler days are the things I love about fall; the wind and sudden dearth of those beautiful leaves is what disappoints me. The colors seem to last only a few days, perhaps weeks if we are very lucky. But, not very long as it turns out again this year.

Explaining the science behind the changes that trees make seasonally is a welcome premise for this gorgeous new book by Mia Posada. You can see its beauty in the book cover above. Endpapers are bold green, and the first double-page spread uses that color and other shades of green to point out to readers a number of the leaves that might be seen in summer.

"From emerald to jade and
every shade between, summer
leaves fill the world with green!"

The author begins with that, explaining why. Chlorophyll is green; chlorophyll also collects energy from the sun to feed the tree and help it grow. There are other colors inside leaves, hidden by the chlorophyll. As the air cools and darkness lengthens, the plant begins getting ready for much colder days and nights ... winter. It no longer needs chlorophyll. That allows the other colors to make an appearance. Thus, we get the beauty of autumn! Finally, trees are bare. They make good use of winter weather to rest in preparation for a new growing season.

Short sentences ensure that just enough information is provided on each spread. The use of scientific terms provide extended learning. Readers will appreciate the fairly simple, yet accurate, explanation for why leaves change color and how that happens. The cut-paper collage and watercolor art helps give context and beauty to any new learning. Observant readers will note the family in some of the images, and see that changing seasons have an effect on their lives as well.

Back matter includes four sections: Different Kinds of Leaves, Pigments in Nature, Fall Colors Around the World and Fall to Fall, Colors Can Change. A glossary and a list of hands-on experiments with leaves and pigments are also provided.