Module 14: Swirl by Swirl: Spirals in Nature

• Book Cover Image:

• Book Summary: Written in bold-text, simple verse, this story presents ways spirals might be encountered in our world. From a snuggling shape, to a growing shape, to a strong shape, spirals serve many purposes. The scratchboard style illustrations create beautiful scenes in nature where spirals occur.   

• APA Reference of Book: Sidman, J. (2011). Swirl by swirl: Spirals in nature. New York, NY: Houghton Mifflin.

• Impressions: As an early childhood educator, I am always drawn to books that present information in a way that is both engaging as well as educational. This narrative poem title is a perfect example. While the youngest of listeners won’t realize the book is a style of poetry, teachers can add it to their collection to give exposure to a variety of literary styles. Children are in the process of developing an appreciation of poetry so the more they are exposed, the greater chance we have of nurturing a positive attitude towards it. With the short, simple sentences on each page, I can see my students encouraged to “hunt and seek” out the spirals being described within the illustrations. This book not only fits in the genre of Poetry, but also in the genres of Picture Book and Informational Book as well. The back of the book contains elaborations on each type of spiral introduced, which stretches the use of the book to older elementary students in addition to the younger students its simple design appeals to.

• Professional Review: “A spiral is a snuggling shape” is the somewhat homely observation that begins Sidman’s brief and graceful poem—she goes on to catalog and celebrate the ways that spirals manifest themselves in the physical and natural world in a way that will draw in the youngest listeners. Krommes’ dense and richly colored scratchboard illustrations, with their closely packed and neatly labeled creatures, plants and natural phenomena, create a feeling of abundance and profusion, with so many parts of the world nestled together in swirls and spirals—effectively demonstrating its fundamental nature. The author and illustrator examine spirals as coiled and protective (fiddlehead ferns, a curled hedgehog) as well as bold and releasing (curls on ocean waves, a spiral galaxy). They further offer observations on the ways that plants and animals use the spiral structure for strength or support (a monkey’s tail clinging to a branch, a spider’s web constructed between twigs). Two pages of notes at the end offer a definition (“Spiral: a shape that curls around a center point”), details that elaborate on the poem and explain some of the individual manifestations of spirals and a brief nod to the Fibonacci sequence. Exquisitely simple and memorable. (Informational picture book. 2-8

(2011). [Review of the book Swirl by swirl: Spirals in nature, by J. Sidman]. Kirkus review. Retrieved  from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/joyce-sidman/swirl-swirl/

Library Uses: Use the book as a read-aloud for Prek-2. Describe a spiral. Trace one in the air with your finger. Locate spirals on the front and back covers of the book, then discuss where students have seen spirals. Set up a spiral-mobile art project to complete and display by hanging from the ceiling.