Green on Green

"Lemonade petals./ Sunflakes between./ Lemonade, sunflakes, and yellow on green." Sala (What's Cooking at 10 Garden Street?) anchors this serene, incantatory poem by White (Who Eats Orange?) with a family--mother, father, child, all with brown skin and black hair--she follows through the seasons. With feather-light economy, White's musical language ("Gentle the breezes./ Rain between./ Breezes and rain and yellow on green") combines color and sensation. In watercolor, gouache, and colored pencil, soft lines and saturated hues mark each new season: an apple harvest for fall, a snow-laden spruce for winter. As the weather grows colder ("Cinnamon spice./ Almond between./ Cinnamon, almond, and brown on green"), it becomes clear that the family is expecting a baby. Rolling winter farmland signals space and peace; the family gathers with others to sing carols, and the child lays a hand on their mother's stomach with a smile. Soon, the mother and an infant are visible through the house's window. White's words beat at the same slow pace as time lived by the seasons, and Sala's paintings celebrate lives immersed in nature's wealth. Ages 4-8. Author's agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator's agent: Kirsten Hall, Catbird Productions. (Mar.)

PreS-Gr 1--"Yellow the flower./Yellow the seed./Yellow and black the buzzing bee." Starting in the spring, this gentle verse story follows a small boy, his family, and their friends over the course of one year. Each season brings its own cozy delights, lushly depicted in Sala's colorful spreads. Whether it's the child playing in puddles and enjoying spring flowers, exploring the beach and picnicking with family and friends in the summer, savoring autumnal repasts, or caroling in the winter, each scene brims with love, warmth, and rural tranquility. Sharp-eyed readers will enjoy finding elements repeated throughout--a striped lighthouse in the background, the family's horse and dog, different views of the boy's house, the mother's growing belly, and the appearance of a new baby in early spring. Both the mixed media illustrations and White's pithy verses highlight the special colors of each season, with a soothing refrain of "[color] on green"--yellow in spring, blue in summer, brown in autumn, finally white in winter. VERDICT A quietly comforting celebration of family and nature that can enrich most collections.--Yelena Voysey, formerly at Pickering Educational Library, Boston University