(2) PS Illustrated by Chuck Groenink. Two children head into the redwood forest for a hike. Along the way, they collect a few more friends and together discover the marvels of fallen logs, banana slugs, ferns, and towering trees. Inviting her readers in with the almost familiar phrase -- "This is the forest. / This is the steeple" -- Fleming goes on to describe the plants and animals of this sensory-rich adventure in lilting rhyming text. "This is a redwood. / Look how it soars, / surrounded by sorrel / crowding the floor." Through the tall, narrow book, redwood trunks fill the pages bleeding off the top and sides, helping to convey a sense of the trees' majesty. On other pages, smaller panel illustrations walk readers through the diversity of the forest: "That way an eagle. / This way a bug. / Fast like a falcon. / Slow like a slug." Groenink's cheerful, expansive digital illustrations convey both the wonder of the forest itself, with rich greens and shafts of sunlight, and the joy of the wide-eyed multiracial cast of children as they explore and play. This forest is a holy place, and children and their families should be inspired to go outside and look for themselves.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2025

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Diana Sudyka. "Sometimes piles. / Ten feet tall. / Sometimes jumping into fall." Using rhyme and repetition, a spare text celebrates all the seasons have to offer, including picnics cut short by rain, sledding and snowmen, mud, and chasing butterflies. The playful gouache-watercolor illustrations extend the narrative, filling in details and adding levity. This book could serve as an accessible prompt for young writers.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Illustrated by Sarah Jane Wright. Using three-word sentences, this gentle, creative rhyme lists ways in which animal parents and their children interact. Soft pencil and gouache illustrations clarify and expand on the text. In the final pictures, a human parent pulls a child in a wagon and they cuddle in a swing, accompanied by the words, "I pull you. I tug you. / I hold you. I love you."

Reviewer: Martha Sibert