Lance Cottonwood is a leaf. He loves school and learning about things like photosynthesis. But, he is worried about his big final exam: falling from the tree. He feels a lot of anxiety about falling out of the tree and wishes he was an evergreen live his friend Doug Fir.

This picture book is a fun and educational read that will teach kids about deciduous trees. It also has a moral to not let worry and anxiety take over your life. This is a great book to read with elementary aged kids.

Super cute and easy read that teaches about how the leaves on trees change through the seasons. The story is fun because its told from one young leafs perspective. He grows and changes but come Fall he is scared to take the plunge off his tree. Lance will be the last to leave his tree.

The book isnt just cute its educational. It talks about the different types of trees. Lance cottonwood comes from a deciduous tree but the book also has trees like the evergreen who dont loose their leaves. The book also contains a small glossary at the end with tree terms.

This book also has a few important life lessons for young readers. Its okay to be scared and its okay to last. Be last isnt a failure. With love and support from family and friends we too can overcome our fears and hardships.

Lastly the illustrations in this book are super cute. Love all the cute little faces on the leaves. The colors are also beautiful and make you feel the seasons. This is a great little book to incorporate into learning about the seasons and the impact they have on trees.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I actually enjoyed this book very much and could see myself reading it to my students. It is a beautiful story of a leaf who overcomes his fears and manages to take the final step to complete his cycle. I could see this story being used during the fall to talk about tree/leaf cycles and also giving an encouraging message to the students about taking that leap, doing hard things and overcoming despite of possibly falling. Great book, can't wait to read it to my own children and discuss!

I read the book to my 7 year old who loves nature and she said she liked this book. This is the perfect book to read to kids or a classroom in the Fall when the leaves are starting to change colors. The illustrations were great too.

I'm a huge fan of autumn and the colourful leaves that cover everything during that season so I cover of this book instantly grabbed my attention. I loved it! The story is about conquering our fear of failing, I mean falling, which is all very well but what I loved the best was the illustrations: the expressions on the leaves' faces are priceless!

Stef Wade created a beautiful picture book with The Very Last Leaf. It is a story about fears and being afraid to fail. All the while, the story was a fictional book about a smart leave while including nonfiction information about trees. All the craft and development that went into this story allowed it to sign. It was a great story backed with social-emotional support for children. This is a must for any primary classroom.

How do leaves feel about falling off of trees? In The Very Last Leaf, Lance Cottonwood is a young leaf who is afraid of his final exam, falling off the tree. This cute picture book beautifully illustrates the journey of a leaf. Readers will learn about photosynthesis in a playful way. I plan to purchase this book to use in an upcoming fall science lesson.

A nice story about fear, how normal it's to feel it, and how to overcome it.
The illustrations were very sweet and cute, perfect for fall. ^^
The little report card at the end added a touch of humor and encapsulated the "school" side of the story.

So, a cute album ! ^^

This is a charming little story that is a bit different than what I thought it would be about.

With such a title I would have thought that this would have been a story that focused more on being the last leaf but instead Stef did a great job in combining some scientific trivia along with fiction to explore the life cycle of leaves. As a result the reader gets a glimpse into what it takes for leaves to make it in the real world as you would have.

At the same time the book also explores what it is like for those who may seem to be good at everything finally facing something that either scares them or that they are bad at. And as a result it also explores what it may take for those who are standing in a supportive position whether it be associates, co-workers or even those in places of authority to be able to help encourage others who are struggling to face their fears or anxieties.

The bonus on the cake was the made grade card in the back of the book that reviewed the information covered in the book by giving the reader a more scientific exploration of the subjects covered while grading Lance.

Creative, sweet and inspiring this is definitely a nice book to have at home, especially for those who have students still at home

***I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review***

This was the cutest book I've ever read in my entire life. Best book for children, a light read and a totally cute design for each leaf and surroundings. I have this book a 5 star read because though it's simple it is really cute and awesome for children as a beginning in graphic novels!

The Very Last Leaf was a very cute book. I think it does a very good job at showing that even though something might be scary life jumping off the tree, it can very well be worth it.

This book is great for preschool to second grade. It's a very clever book, I enjoyed reading about the classed the leaf took, it was very funny leaf humor.
I like the message of the book, it is ok to be scared. The illustrations are very pretty. I enjoyed the pace, it gets a story across without being too long or wordy.

Lance Cottonwood is the brightest leaf on the cottonwood tree, excelling at all his leaf classes. As the season change, Lance changes to a brilliant yellow. However, his final exam is falling off the tree and Lance is scared. As all the other leaves fall, Lance tries to decide what he should do next.

The Very Last Leaf combines themes of nature, social anxiety and courage through the story of Lance Cottonwood. Children can easily relate to Lance wanting to be the best at every challenge that comes his way and the fear when a challenge seems to big. Through Lance, children learn strategies for dealing with changes and stress. In addition, Lance goes through the seasons, some of the purposes of leaves such as photosynthesis and the difference between deciduous and coniferous trees. The illustrations are cute and colorful while still preserving the natural integrity of the plants represented.

I received an ARC through NetGalley from Capstone. My 5 year old gave this 4 stars. He loved Wade’s other book, A Place for Pluto, so we were excited for this book. Lance Cottonwood is good at everything and he is a star student, but now he is afraid of the last test. He is afraid of falling. This is a sweet book and good for little ones to see they can face their fears and do something that intimidates them. There was support for Lance from his teacher as well as observation skills of Lance seeing how happy all the other students were to fall. I liked that there was a report card at the end and Lance got a B in falling. To me that was very realistic to the types of report cards my son gets. Very nice, crisp art that is expressive and flows well across the pages. Recommended for ages 4-7.

This was a really heartwarming read with some deep themes about anxiety and performing well hidden among the cute illustrations. I think this would make a wonderful bedtime story for little kids and inspire them to do the things they find difficult or scary by asking for help.

Although I can't help but wonder what you're supposed to answer when the kid asks, "okay, so then what happens to leaves that fall?" because they really do get crushed to mulch and go back into the earth but that's a little difficult to explain to little ones with a moral, you know? So the whole backbone of the story is a little shaky, but it's got the right spirit.

Part of me really loves this book. The illustrations are adorable. It's about a leaf and he needs to grow, do photosynthesis, and eventually fall, but he's afraid of falling. It will take a lot of heart and a lot of guts to make the leaf remember that just because you fall doesn't mean you can't get back up again. The other part of me sees this and thinks kids may get the wrong message. When leaves fall off a tree they die. So in a way the message is commit suicide if all your friends are doing it. And that's not a lesson we want to teach children. Now that is probably just my adult brain but some children do suffer severe depression and this could be the wrong message. I love the message of pick yourself back up, don't be afraid to fail, try try try again. However while I love these illustrations I think the delivery concept is a little flawed. So I love this book but I can't give it a high score and I can't buy it for my library. But to the illustrator, beautiful, beautiful job.

The Very Last Leaf is all about an overachieving leaf who is the top of his class, best leaf in the bunch, until the final exam. Lance Cottonwood is nervous about falling down from the tree to join his friends. But he eventually finds his courage to takes the leap. Cute book, great illustrations, fun read.

Beautiful art work, teaching and very cute. Would be a great book for kids. I enjoyed it.
I received an advanced and am thankful for it.
Recommend it.

The Very Last Leaf is a perfect book to read with a classroom study on setting goals, resilience, and perseverance. Lance is a leaf perfectly content in his status quo. Things are comfortable and easy and familiar. He actually wishes to be like someone else in order to avoid the fate that befalls all of his kind; the autumnal fall from the branches to ground. In the final pages of this book, Lance accepts his identity and recognizes that he has prepared for this aspect of his life and must trust what he knows. In doing so, he embraces what he must do and joins friends and family who are waiting to congratulate him. While many of the themes in this book are so perfect for discussing fears and taking a reasoned risk, there is also a layer of symbolism that could be very applicable to a child facing grief and loss. The illustrations in this book cap off an already wonderful story and make this an enthusiastic thumbs up read!

Thanks to NetGalley and Capstone Editions for providing me with a digital version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The illustrations were absolutely gorgeous throughout the books. The vivid colors really captured my daughter's attention. I think this is a great book to help teach younger children about how challenges can be scary or daunting to them but with grit and support they can achieve anything. It also included several science vocabulary terms which I think would be good for older students. I do think it is important to note that older students may also pick up on some darker themes throughout the book (fear of death/dying).