The First Day of May

Wordless panels mix the whimsical and the mundane in depicting a child's exuberant outdoor exploits on the titular first of May. A view of clouds zooms in on one of houses and a vacant playground. As varied pink-skinned kids peek from their windows, one bored-seeming child, sporting a black bob and red dress, draws the book's focus. A newscaster's forecast of sun changes everything: snaking immediately toward the door, the child, proffered shoes and let loose outside, appears to take flight, drifting against royal blue skies. Back on land, encounters with animals, insects, and flowers become panel focal points before the youth--given a hot beverage and a blanket--settles into the grass for an outdoor nap. Giving a Totoro-esque vibe, vibrant primary and secondary colors lend energy to Coser Moreira's stylistically unadorned drawings, whose minimally detailed protagonist communicates the season's uplifting capabilities. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 2--No words are found in these pages, and none are necessary in this visual ode to spring from Portugal. Readers follow a girl with tan or reddish pink skin, a black bob, red dress, and white leggings in a varying number of comic book-style panels per page featuring a palette of primarily green, blue, red, brown, white, and yellow. Each element in the very spare illustrations is purposeful and moves the story forward. A bored little girl is delighted by the forecast of sunny weat her and rushes to go outside, only stopping to put on her shoes when her caregiver blocks her way. Slowly, the door opens and the starstruck girl enters a world of green grass, tall trees, and white clouds. Then the spring breeze takes her up and away. She soars over the miniature land below, alighting in front of a vast and welcoming woodland. Like Alice in Wonderland, she travels the path through it, delighting in the wildlife and pausing to dance to the music of a cricket. A book that is perfect in its simplicity and scope, this allows young children to pore over the pages and older ones to venture into a graphic-novel format in a refreshing, accessible way. VERDICT All the delights of spring are found within the covers in this charming, wordless picture book. Recommended for all libraries.--Catherine Callegari

Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"Ivan Brunetti by way of Rowboat Watkins, and readers will sense the opportunities waiting just outside their own doors. A joyous adventure, bright and brimming with exuberance."

"The First Day of May beams with joy and a sense of discovery as it chronicles a little girl's experience of going outside on a spring day... It's a warming experience bound to give young readers a sense of wonder while encouraging them to have their own springtime adventures." - How To Love Comics