Anyone who’s lived in a temperate zone understands the joy of walking outside and finding that the winter has passed and the warm bright days of spring have returned, and the little hero of GRIFFIN IN THE SPRING is no different. The vocabulary and the writing style are clear and geared towards young readers, without too many difficult words or complicated phrases. The story is simple and easy to understand, without major conflict or events more distressing than a sudden spring rainfall. The story maintains a reasonably consistent rhyme and rhythmic pattern, which is pleasant to read aloud. However, a few of the lines feel a bit forced for the sake of the rhyme: “talons the dirt will greet,” for example, and the first line of each verse is oddly longer than the rest.
The illustrations by Cleoward Sy are cheerfully appealing. The background colors are bright and springlike, full of sunny yellows, brilliant greens, and rich blues, which contrast with the simple brown and grey of the griffin’s winter den, emphasizing the feeling of coming out of shadowed darkness into the bright sun. This is particularly noticeable in the first illustration, where the white-feathered front of the griffin is coming out into the sunshine, while the darker brown-furred back end is still in the cozy darkness of the den. The brilliant background colors also help our brown-and-white hero to stand out quite nicely, bringing out his well-drawn features and appeal. The little griffin has an amazing amount of personality, with surprisingly expressive facial features and body language. It’s hard not to be charmed by this joyful creature, and hopefully small readers will find him a kindred spirit. Sometimes the illustrations don’t quite match up to the words – for example, the words refer to him seeing birds in the grass and hearing them sing, while the illustration has him running along a beach looking at seagulls (not usually very melodic by nature) – but only the most pedantic of children, hopefully, will care much about this. The feeling of rediscovered freedom and reawakening to the beauty of a springtime world, however, will perhaps be more understandable than ever to children who have lived through the Covid-19 lockdowns and quarantines.
A cute, charmingly-illustrated little tale of a griffin awakening from winter hibernation, GRIFFIN IN THE SPRING will bring a little springtime cheer to its young elementary-aged readers.
~Catherine Langrehr for IndieReader