(2) K-3 Illustrated by Melissa Sweet. Largely forgotten today, American writer Celia Laighton Thaxter enjoyed a significant literary career in the latter half of the nineteenth century. Both her life and her writing revolved around Maine's Appledore Island, and it is here that this picture-book biography takes root. Thaxter comes alive as a gardener from her earliest years (when the family lived on White Island), coaxing blooms to life amid the rocks, with vivid colors punctuating Root and Schmidt's narrative: "Pink morning glories opened to the sun, and Celia found green moss and purple starfish in rocky pools." Sweet's illustrations follow the text's lead, depicting the main character ankle-deep in a tide pool surrounded by bright, stylized flowers in purples, pinks, oranges, and reds. Both Celia and the island backdrop are dressed in muted gray-greens, causing the colors to pop all the more. Readers learn that Celia's lighthouse-keeper father moved the family to Appledore Island and built a hotel where "artists and writers [came] to stay"; after she married and moved to the mainland, that network f­acilitated her career. Hand-lettered excerpts of Thaxter's writings--both poetry and prose--frequently appear in the margins, artfully commenting on the narrative. The telling is elliptical; readers who wonder at the abrupt disappearance of Thaxter's husband must comb through the two-page timeline, printed in a tiny font, to learn of their estrangement. But Thaxter's devotion to her titular garden shines bright. Also appended are a biographical note and a bibliography.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2022

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Claudia McGehee. This account of the rusty-patched bumble bee life cycle is told from the perspective of the queen. The story opens in winter, as a hibernating queen bee awaits the arrival of spring. That single creature's "tiny body (not even an inch) holds everything she needs to create a whole colony of bees." As spring arrives and turns to summer, the meadow environment awakens: plants populate the habitat, other wildlife return, and the bee proceeds to build a nest, start laying eggs, and raise the workers who will attend to her care. McGehee's wonderful scratchboard and watercolor illustrations are bursting with the colors and movements of flora and fauna, yet also delicately detailed in portraying bee anatomy. Even the negative spaces are not quite empty, filled with thin lines that indicate movement in the wind and a dashed line that traces the path of the bee as she finds a place for a nest. By the last days of autumn, just one bee--a new queen--is left. The text echoes the introductory pages to emphasize the beginning of a new cycle: "What's inside this hole in the ground? / Next year's rusty-patched bumble bee queen." End notes include more information about these creatures and the decline of the species, as well as steps readers can take to help conserve bees in their neighborhoods.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2021

(1) K-3 Illustrated by Betsy Bowen. In 1882, surveyors mapping northern Minnesota made a mistake; subsequently an old growth forest was ignored until 1958. The protected forest still exists today in Chippewa National Forest. Root includes surveying details and the ecology of such pine forests that once covered the northern U.S. Bowen's painted backgrounds and survey-notebook inserts capture the texture and colors of fresh-cut pine or yellowing maps. Substantial back matter serves as a field guide. Glos.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2019

(2) K-3 Illustrated by G. Brian Karas. Root's upbeat rhyming text details all the places to grow things. Then it suggests what one might plant and who might come to visit one's "anywhere farm." Karas's mixed-media illustrations first focus on one little girl with a single plant but eventually include a whole diverse neighborhood transforming a barren urban space into a lush, flourishing garden. Inspiring and empowering; friendly and inviting.

Reviewer: Martha V. Parravano | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2017

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Beckie Prange & Betsy Bowen. This Minnesota nature–centered counting book begins with one moose that "browses by a cobble beach / by one great lake / under one north star." Each spread continues adding numbers but changes creatures and scenery, with tongue-twisting, poetic phrases extended by the striking woodcut and watercolor illustrations. Detailed back matter about the natural environments, animals, and plants common in the "North Star State" is included.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke

(3) PS Illustrated by Helen Craig. When her farm animals get cold, Bonnie Bumble knits for them. The sun comes back to see what's happening, and he gets a hat, too. A very simple and nicely repetitive text consists of short sentences or fragments; the animals' sounds indicate their shivering ("m-m-m-moo"; "cl-cl-cl-cluck"). Craig's ink and watercolor illustrations of the animals in their winter wear are playful and endearing.

Reviewer: Miriam Steinberg-Egeth

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Betsy Bowen. There isn't much prairie left in the U.S., thanks to human farming and development. Readers are encouraged to reverse this trend by planting native plants in their own backyards and watching what animals are attracted by each plant species. Mixed-media illustrations are placed on white backgrounds, their chunky outlines a modern twist on botanical illustration. The conservation and restoration message is universal.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2014

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Alison Friend. A once-loved stray cat takes refuge in a moored dinghy. It breaks free, and he's blown over the sea to an island home owned by Emma, a lonely former sailor. Root paces her story expertly, lingering for pathos and subtly repeating sounds. In expansive gouache illustrations, Friend represents the cat's affecting emotions with verve and Emma herself in welcoming curves.

Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2011

(3) 4-6 Illustrated by Rob Shepperson. When her scientist parents take off for the Shipwrecked Islands to study the elusive frangipani fruit fly, ten-year-old worrywart Lilly stays behind with her eccentric great-uncle. With her parents feared lost at sea, Lilly finds herself reluctantly joining forces with her lady-pirate neighbor to save them. Their ocean adventure, shown from many angles in humorous black-and-white illustrations, is action-packed and satisfying.

Reviewer: Rita Soltan

(2) K-3 Illustrated by Betsy Bowen. This book invites readers into the stillness of a northern Minnesota bog. Root's prose conveys the mellow characteristics and funkiness of the bog, while Bowen's stylized woodcut illustrations, predominantly black, blue, purple, and green, capture the murky but nonetheless teeming-with-life place. The book ends with further factual information about these fascinating and eerie natural environments.

Reviewer: Danielle J. Ford | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2010

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Regan Dunnick. "Creak!" says the bed as each of three children piles into Momma and Poppa's bed during a stormy night. When the family dog hops in too, the bed finally breaks. Simple acrylic gouache paintings and wavy black outlines add to a hilarious text that children will be able to recite after the first reading.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt

(4) PS Illustrated by Susan Gaber. In a countdown to bedtime, ten sheep try everything to avoid the inevitable but can't help dropping off one by one. The sleepy rhythm and gentle illustrations make good bedtime companions. The text is just right for a board book audience, but the illustrations are slightly less successful in this smaller edition.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2004

(2) PS Illustrated by David Walker. With gently pastoral illustrations and bouncy wordplay, Root and Walker introduce animal babies taking that first thrilling step toward independence: ambulation. The spaciously composed illustrations are light-filled and cheerily anthropomorphic, the babies clearly overjoyed to be doing their thing. Strategic page turns and subtle visual clues introduce a guessing-game element, and generous doses of onomatopoeia and alliteration add to the fun.

Reviewer: Claire E. Gross | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2009

(4) K-3 Illustrated by Kevin O'Malley. Root introduces legendary lumberjack Paul's outsize "little" sister, who sets off for the North Woods, where she'll have some space. The hyperbole-strewn story suffers from a lack of plot, but O'Malley does a fine job of capturing each dramatic episode (Paula befriends a bear, sics mosquitoes on some tree-felling lumberjacks, etc.) in his large-scale illustrations, which have a fittingly woodblockish quality.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Matthew Cordell. After beret-wearing fox Pierre sets out by car to make a friend, he encounters three different animals, each of whom joins his quest. Readers will delight in knowing more than these big-hearted but pea-brained characters, who become friends without realizing it. Some of the merry illustrations of their journey up a steep mountain are, appropriately enough, vertically oriented.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(4) PS Illustrated by Helen Craig. When farmer Bonnie Bumble's crops wilt from lack of rain, she builds an animal ladder (heaving a pig atop a sheep atop a cow) and climbs up to tickle a passing cloud with chicken feathers. The ink and watercolor illustrations are a bit too saccharine, but toddlers will giggle at Bonnie's silly--and successful--plan.

Reviewer: Sheila M. Geraty

(3) PS Illustrated by Christopher Denise. This board book edition is well suited to a toddler audience. Little bear Oliver gets lost in the woods near his house. The tension is appropriately short-lived, and Oliver uses his wits to get home safely. All ends well in his world, shown in warm autumn-colored pastel and charcoal illustrations.

Reviewer: Maeve Visser Knoth | Horn Book Magazine Issue: January, 2003

(1) 1-3 Illustrated by David Parkins. This beguiling collection features two previously published (as picture books) Aunt Nancy tales and two new trickster stories, in a smaller trim size illustrated mainly with silhouettes. Root's folksy style shines in every sentence, her storyteller's voice carrying the reader through each account with ease. Parkins's wit shows itself in the droll silhouettes that milk body language for all it's worth.

Reviewer: Vicky Smith | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2007

(3) PS Illustrated by Randy Cecil. Determined to find a moose, four children set off through the woods, across a swamp, and finally over a hilltop where, to their delight, they discover hundreds of moose. Colorful rhythmic language makes this a rollicking read-aloud. Youngsters will want to get close enough to the book to be able to point out the moose hidden throughout the autumn-hued oil illustrations.

Reviewer: Lauren Maggio

(3) K-3 Illustrated by Mary GrandPré. In this absorbing tale, Lucia bravely searches for the sun, which has disappeared from the winter sky. With the help of her cat, she takes the light back from the dangerous dark-loving trolls who have hidden it away. GrandPré's dramatic pastel compositions, dimly lit at the beginning, provide a gratifying burst of yellow and pink as the sun breaks free.

Reviewer: Martha Sibert