Review by Booklist Review
This is a beautiful story of how interconnected nature can be, accompanied by illustrations that are charming in their simplicity. It starts as a scared leaf is reassured by a tree who asserts that they're not alone. The story travels through fields and streams, sunny pastures, and night skies and introduces readers to all sorts of animals from bears to crabs, all voicing their concerns and finding help from the natural resources around them. What makes the narrative so compelling is the mix of physical and emotional problems addressed (a hot bear finds relief in a cool creek, while a lonely crab is offered companionship by a school of fish), as well as the acknowledgment that sometimes how we feel doesn't need to change but can simply be acknowledged (like the shy turtle who learns the rock is shy, too). The perfect book for any young reader who'd rather read outside.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This thoughtful work begins with the sun reflected in a great body of water, watched by a pale-skinned child on the shore. A yellow leaf falls. "I'm afraid," it says. A page turn sees a tree reassuring the leaf: "You're not alone." A baby bird in the tree's branches speaks--"I could fall"--to which the wind supplies the promise "I will lift you." The rhythm of call and response continues, with the child serving as witness throughout. Boldly stroked spreads from James (Tadpoles) convey life and power; the emotions that Daniel (Sometimes I Feel Like a River) suggests can be read in the creatures' faces. Part of the story's freshness flows from startling sources of generosity. When a deer notes, "I'm so worried," the grass's "I will comfort you" raises wonderful questions about what the grass is offering: A bed? Food? The companionship of innumerable growing things? At last, the child voices a wish of their own, and again, a generous answer comes from an unexpected place. Every worry is addressed and every need is met in this eloquent portrait of the interconnectedness of the living world. Ages 3--7. Author's agent: Kelly Sonnack, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator's agent: Jackie Kaiser, Westwood Creative Artists. (May)
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Review by Horn Book Review
A child explores the outdoors on a sunny day, observing living things all around: a tall, verdant tree and animals on land, in the air, and underwater. Author Daniel gives voice to each of these living entities: "I'm afraid," says a leaf in the air. The tree from which the leaf fell tells it, however, that it's not alone. A bird nestled in the same tree notes: "I could fall," and the wind replies, as the yellow bird soars through the air: "I will lift you." And so it goes: the stream provides water to a thirsty skunk; a fish provides camaraderie to a lonely crab; the creek cools a hot bear; the grass comforts a worried deer; and more. Daniel stresses the interdependence of living things, stating in a short appended note that "every single living thing depends on another living thing" (such as, for instance, the story's "bored" mushrooms that accept a mouse's invitation to play). The illustrations in thick acrylics are inventive: in one spread, a butterfly's wing, adorned with a pupil-like shape, overlaps with the child's left eye as that eye looks at a snail needing encouragement, and in the final spread, the child sleeps under a full moon while dreaming of creatures. James personifies the animals, many of them with tears and frowns. It's an empathetic primer for the youngest of readers on the interconnectedness of all living things on our planet. Julie DanielsonJuly/August 2024 p.96 (c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
The interconnectedness of all earthbound beings centers this tale of fear, support, and love. "I'm afraid," says a single yellow leaf as it's blown from its tree toward the water. "You're not alone," responds the tree. On the sand below, a human child watches this interaction. The book follows other usually uncommunicative species as they exhibit some very human emotions. "I could fall," a little yellow bird in a nest says. The wind assures it, "I will lift you." And as a squirrel says, "I'm so hungry," a nut responds, "I will feed you." In her author's note, Daniel states that her tale taps into the interdependence of all living things and that "every single living thing depends on another living thing." Yet it's James' art that elevates the exceedingly spare text emotionally. Using acrylic paint, he depicts a tan-skinned child who follows along, drawing a smiley face on the shore as the leaf falls, running along as the bird takes flight, and, overall, providing the necessary visual connection the text so desperately needs. The result is a poetic encapsulation of the connections among all living things on Earth. The inner lives of different species may be the focus of this story, but it's the art that renders the tale truly universal. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
