Fashionable Foliage: Fancy Nancy and the Fall Foliage by Jane O'Connor

HOORAY!

FALL IS MY FAVORITE SEASON. I LOVE HOW THE FOLIAGE CHANGES COLOR. (FOLIAGE IS FANCY FOR ALL THE LEAVES.)

For a redhead like Nancy Clancy, the colors of the fall leaves are a natural backdrop. She changes into autumnal shades ("fabu" hues!) and heads out to get into the fun of raking up the falling leaves.

Her little sister JoJo and dog Frenchy have other ideas about what to do with the fluffy piles of fall-tinged foliage, but Nancy is in such an ebullient mood that she joins them in a few seasonal dives into the leaves herself.

While Mom and Dad persevere with the raking and bagging, Nancy notices a maple leaf in an arrestingly unusual color--burgundy (fancy for reddish purple) and Ooh-la-la!--the decorative possibilities that present themselves to Nancy's aesthetic side!!

Mom suggests an autumn leaf scrapbook, but Nancy's been there and done that--last year yet! Dad's idea is leaf prints, but that's not quite innovative enough for Nancy either!

I WANT TO DO SOMETHING EXTREMELY CREATIVE!

Always fashion forward, Nancy comes up with a craft idea that combines autumn leaves with the season which follows--a fall foliage wreath for the front door that celebrates autumn and hints at the December holiday to come:

IT'S NEVER TOO EARLY TO START GETTING READY FOR CHRISTMAS!

Jane O'Connor's Nancy always has an eye for fashion and decor, and in her latest celebration of the season, Fancy Nancy and the Fall Foliage (HarperFestival, 2014), she pictures the Clancy clan pitching in to make even yard work an opportunity for family fun. Robin Preiss Glaser and associate artist Carolyn Brand pitch in as well with exuberant illustrations of Fancy Nancy doing what she does so well. Pair this one with O'Connor's top-selling and wryly witty portrayal of an extended family Thanksgiving feast, Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet.