Something on the Hill

by Jane Kohuth, Sonia Sanchez (Illustrator)

Overview

Celebrate the arrival of Spring with this picture book that follows a small field mouse as she rallies the larger woodland animals to join her on a journey up a hill, sensing that something is about to happen at the top.... What could it be?!

When Field Mouse wakes from her nap, the air is no longer chilly, and she feels like there's something has changed. Something is out there, calling to her.... Something is on the Hill.
She spots her friend, Squirrel. "Help me find the Something," Mouse tells him. And so the two scamper through a clearing. Soon, they spot Doe. "Where are you hurrying today?" Doe asks them. "We're going to the Hill," says Mouse.
And so it goes, as Turtle, the Ducks, and the Bears join the group, all making their way to the Something on the Hill. As they climb to the tippy-top, this parade of animals will discover just what that Something is: a leaf shoot, tiny and green.
Just in time for spring comes this delightful picture book—perfect for storytime—that reminds us that the smallest of things can matter just as much as the big ones.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780593301074
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	03/12/2024
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	8.94(w) x 11.31(h) x 0.42(d)
Lexile:	AD560L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Jane Kohuth is the author of several books for children, including Duck Sock Hop, which the New York Times called "charming." It was also a Chicago Public Library and Bank Street Best Book of the Year. Her other titles include Ducks Go Vroom, Estie the Mensch, and Anne Frank's Chestnut Tree. A former bookseller at Wellesley Booksmith, Jane lives in a nineteenth century house in Holliston, Massachussetts.

Sonia Sanchez has illustrated numerous picture books, including Evelyn del Rey is Moving Away, written by Meg Medina, which was a Kirkus, SLJ, and PW Best Book of 2020. Her Bubbles...Up by Jacqueline Davies received 3 starred reviews. Here I Am, written by Patti Kim, earned two starred reviews, was a Kirkus Best Book of 2015, and for which Sonia received an Eisner Award nomination for Best Paint/Multimedia Artist. She is also the illustrator of Green Green: A Community Gardening Story, Sister Day!, and The Wonderful Habits of Rabbits. The New York Times has called her work "lively." Sonia lives with her husband and a sleepyhead cat in a blue house near the Mediterranean Sea.

Editorial Reviews

12/18/2023

In Kohuth and Sánchez’s seasonal work, friendly forest creatures march to the top of a hill, where they all sense a “Something” taking root in winter’s aftermath. Field Mouse, first to awaken from an icy slumber, intuits a change: “Something was out there, calling to her. Something on the Hill.” As she ventures forth, she’s soon joined by Gray Squirrel, Doe, and aged Turtle, who indicates that the hillside mystery “goes like this each year.” The intrepid band expands with the addition of some ducks and a bear family, until the whole crew arrives at the summit, discovering the “Something”: spring’s harbinger. Handmade brushes and textures lend digital renderings a smudgy quality in images that gradually shift from a wintry palette to one with yellow and green undertones. The result is a jubilant tribute to creaturely instincts as well as bonds that endure seasonal transitions. Ages 3–7. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 01/26/2024

PreS-Gr 3—For anyone who believes Ruth Krauss's classic The Happy Day has been updated, they're not entirely wrong. Field Mouse hears it and Gray Squirrel smells it. There is "Something on the Hill" that needs investigating. Moving through a snowy landscape of fields and woods, they are joined by Doe, Turtle (who ferries Field Mouse across a stream), the Mallard Duck family, and Mother Bear and her cubs. Field Mouse is the only one brave enough to wake Mother Bear. By the time the sun is up, the parade is climbing the hill, and the book has to be turned sideways to climb with them. What the animals discover is "Something blinking in the sun, like a bear waking after sleep…Something as gentle and just as important as a mouse." Spring has arrived in the form of a bright green leafy shoot! The rural settings are rendered with the softness of pastels, lots of texture, and beautiful earth tones while always keeping the focus on the charmingly drawn animals. Text flows with equal charm as the critters interact; the scenes work perfectly with the illustrations to build suspense for the big reveal. VERDICT There is more than enough room on the shelf for both The Happy Day and the very lovely Something on the Hill; they are also a perfect story-hour pairing.—Jan Aldrich Solow

School Library Journal

2024-01-05
Field Mouse gathers her animal friends for a journey.

After emerging from her nest, Field Mouse senses that something has changed in the air, and it’s calling to her. It appears to be coming from a nearby hill. Making her way through the woods in search of Something on the Hill, she’s joined by Gray Squirrel, Doe, Turtle, the Mallard Ducks, and the Bears. As they travel, the animals notice changes in the winter forest: The rushing stream is no longer frozen, and there’s cracked ice on the pond. At the top of the hill, the group finds a tiny leafy shoot, a sure sign of spring’s arrival. The captivating illustrations perfectly portray the beginning of winter’s thaw. When Field Mouse first spots the Something on the Hill, the expert use of color suggests that spring is in the air; bright hues loom in the distance, though Field Mouse is surrounded by the ice blues, grays, and dull browns of winter. The art has a brushed effect, ideal for conveying the textures of animal fur, bushy tails, and puffy snow. The landscapes in particular stand out. The animals are realistic enough to be believable in the wilderness, though they are somewhat anthropomorphic, which will appeal to little readers.

A simple, engaging appreciation of all things spring. (Picture book. 3-6)

Kirkus Reviews

★ "The rural settings are rendered with the softness of pastels, lots of texture, and beautiful earth tones…. text flows with equal charm as the critters interact; the scenes work perfectly with the illustrations to build suspense for the big reveal." —School Library Journal, starred review

"A jubilant tribute to creaturely instincts as well as bonds that endure seasonal transitions." —Publishers Weekly

"A simple, engaging appreciation of all things spring." —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher