Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Offering community care alongside space to heal is the gentle model animating this compassionate woodland tale. When raccoon Holly reaches out to an unfamiliar little bird who seems to have "been through some things," the avian newcomer retreats to a woodpecker's now abandoned home. Understanding that "life is heavy sometimes," Holly rallies the local animal community to help: each one recalls "when they were new and the things they had gone through" and contributes elements for a handsome patchwork sweater that Holly gifts the bird just as winter arrives. Warmed and heartened, the bird accepts his neighbors' help fortifying his new home for winter before the creatures settle into their respective dens for the duration, their concern for one another never dimming. And one morning when "the wind overslept," the bird supplies a contribution of his own--expressing his gratitude with "the clearest, sweetest song his friends had ever heard." Workmanlike language from Theule (Tove Under the Tree) finds a fitting visual expression in vintage-inflected, earth-toned mixed-media illustrations by White (That's Me Loving You), which suggest both the reality of life's seasons and the quiet grace of a community in which "every gift mattered to the whole" and each creature belongs to it, too. Ages 3--7. Author's agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. Illustrator's agent: Nicole Tugeau, Tugeau 2. (Feb.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A woodland community rallies around a nervous newcomer. A bird lands in Holly the raccoon's neighborhood, head bent and beak silent. When Holly approaches him, he hops into a hole in a tree, scared to interact. Holly understands: "Life is heavy sometimes." She responds with instinctual kindness, collecting ribbons, yarn, trinkets, and sticks from other forest dwellers, including a majestic moose, a minuscule moth, and a pair of elegant cranes. Using their offerings, she knits the bird a sweater for warmth and, with help from the other animals, helps him shore up his dwelling. As winter descends, the animals hunker down in separate homes, missing one another and wishing for spring, which arrives with the gift of the grateful bird's sweet song. Spare, thoughtful prose accompanies the interactions of playfully imagined, cozily dressed animals. Seasonal transitions are reflected in falling leaves and bare branches but appear even more powerfully in shifting shades of sunlight. Late autumn is a hazy blue-orange, winter a palette of brittle pink, and the spring sun's golden-peach emergence communicates a visceral sense of relief to readers. The message of a community's strength, even in isolation, echoes expressions of Covid-19-era solidarity, but the hope and care each loving interaction exudes has a timeless quality, too. An enduring reflection on seasons of togetherness and separation, in nature and in life.(Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
