Divided into seasons, this visceral introduction to the wonders of nature explores cycles and the passage of time through rich, textural images and thoughtful poems. Spring is “the busiest season.” Icicles melt, frogs lay eggs, and birds migrate: “They’ve flown so far!/ Over forests, mountains, deserts, seas.” Summer is “Time to look at the sky/ and dream,” explore tide pools, and build dens. With fall come new observations (“They’re not animals, and they’re not plants./ They’re something else—/ they’re fungi: toadstools, mushrooms, molds”), and in winter “Patchwork pigeons, made of sky,/ catch the rain clouds when they fly.” Debut talent Hearld layers his organic tableaux with matte, paper-cut collages, woodcuts, and other mixed-media techniques, complementing the album of ideas, images, and moods created by Davies’s evocative poetry. Ages 3–up. (Feb.)
Reading poetry may seem an activity for the winter-bound and introverted, but this lovely collection, organized by season, urges children to dash outside, slamming the screen door behind them. Unlike so much poetry geared toward children, not all the verse here rhymes, introducing readers to poetic language outside the predictable cadences of Dr. Seuss. Mixed-media illustrations, with an emphasis on woodblock and silhouette, offer plenty of beauty to contemplate.
—The New York Times
Divided into seasons, this visceral introduction to the wonders of nature explores cycles and the passage of time through rich, textural images and thoughtful poems... Debut talent Hearld layers his organic tableaux with matte, paper-cut collages, woodcuts, and other mixed-media techniques, complementing the album of ideas, images, and moods created by Davies’s evocative poetry.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Hearld's powerful multimedia illustrations layer paper-cut animals and diverse flora with vibrant swathes of watercolor, ink and crayon, creating dynamic scenes to which children can readily relate, while Davies' spare lyrics ground complex processes like the life cycles of frogs and dandelions and the formation of rainbows with relative clarity.
—Kirkus Reviews
Oversized matte pages with full-bleed illustrations in rich complex hues suggest classic twentieth-century treasuries, and indeed the mixed-media art (which includes paints, prints, and collage work) recalls the spirited and earthtone-touched work of the Provensens. The combination of designerly patterning and vigorous individual style is particularly strong in the critters, as in the intricate barring on the wings of the wide-eyed chickens or the rough multi-toned coat on the russet fox.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
A handsome, oversize collection of original poems paired with vibrant illustrations in mixed media ranging from watercolor to collage. Broken down into seasons, the selections encourage children to observe the world around them and appreciate nature in lyrical ways.
—School Library Journal
The book is not so much a book of poems about nature, though, as much as it is a book of nature written in verse, targeting young children and communicating with them quite effectively.
—Booklist
It’s a real treat to see such a lovingly, thoughtfully designed book, a big book with a real presence. (And you want to be sure to remove the jacket flap to see the cover, not to mention the retro endpapers.) This is one of those books you run your hand over and flip through and generally ooh and ahh about before you even read the first page and take in Hearld’s expansive spreads. It’s simply not to be missed.
—Kirkus Children's Books blog
This is a beautiful book, thick and sturdy and elegant, printed on paper that seems to whisper under the fingers.
—Wall Street Journal
The eye-catching illustrations and evocative language will have most kids reading a selection and then popping outside to check out the stars “making pinprick patterns in the night” or looking for worms that “seem too small to be important, but watch...the worms are recycling.”
—Parent:Wise Austin
Nicola Davies’ descriptive vignettes and Mark Hearld’s Caldecott Medal-worthy drawings brilliantly capture the astounding magic tricks that the world produces with reliable ease. Whether the scene outside your child’s window is that of rainbows and bucolic pastures of sheep or simply tomatoes being grown on the fire escape, this book celebrates it with an equal measure of awe.
—Planet Magazine
I can't think of a more beautiful way to honor [Mother Earth] than with this lovely book of poems.
—Huffington Post Parents
Hearld's eye-catching collages give this collection of poems about the seasons a handmade quality that will instantly make it a favorite.
—Instructor
PreS-Gr 3—A handsome, oversize collection of original poems paired with vibrant illustrations in mixed media ranging from watercolor to collage. Broken down into seasons, the selections encourage children to observe the world around them and appreciate nature in lyrical ways. Davies describes spring bulbs "counting out the days like a calendar" so that they know winter is almost gone and summer flowers that "shout to insects with their colors." In autumn, fungi appear like "rubbery Frisbees on trunks of trees" and in winter, swarms of starlings fly together "making waves and arcs and spirals in the sunset sky." The seasons flow with the sweep and swoosh of Hearld's colorful, impressionistic artwork. Along with her joyful poetry, Davies includes directions for making a tasty "berry crumble," hints on "saving seeds" for future cultivation, and making suet "seed cakes" for winter birds. In no way a field guide (originally published in Great Britain, some of the wildlife is strictly European), this is a celebration of the world around us.—Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY
Lyrically textured and illustrated glimpses of the natural world. In this sweeping, comprehensive look outdoors, zoologist and noted children's author Davies (Poop: A Natural History of the Unmentionable, 2011, etc.) here joins forces with the illustrative talents of British artist Hearld, a kindred spirit when it comes to drawing artistic inspiration from nature. Following the progression of the seasons, these poems and their accompanying eye-popping spreads capture the essence of common animals, plants and phenomena in ways sure to entice young readers to venture outside. Hearld's powerful multimedia illustrations layer paper-cut animals and diverse flora with vibrant swathes of watercolor, ink and crayon, creating dynamic scenes to which children can readily relate, while Davies' spare lyrics ground complex processes like the life cycles of frogs and dandelions and the formation of rainbows with relative clarity. Some broader scenes encourage children to explore with all their senses and prove especially evocative, as in this moving image of what can happen during a snow-filled winter's night: "In the morning, you'll find the snow has kept a diary / of things that happened when you were asleep. / The animals and birds who ran about the garden / have left a snowy record of their feet." Over 50 poems, lustrous illustrations, a couple simple recipes and some advice for saving seeds combine to lend enough nature-related food for thought for many a sitting. (Picture book/poetry. 3-12)
…[a] lovely collection…Mixed-media illustrations, with an emphasis on woodblock and silhouette, offer plenty of beauty to contemplate.
—The New York Times Book Review
