Wonder Why

Against tightly metered verse by Varchol Perron (All the Rocks We Love), a child gazes up and asks the question, “How I wonder, wonder why,/ why are you so blue, big sky?” The sky itself replies in lines both graceful and scientifically accurate: “Me? I’m scattered rays of sun—/ many colors, not just one./ Blue is what the eye perceives,/ and what you see, the brain believes!” Throughout, spreads contrast crisp edges and washlike textures; in one, Henderson (Evidence!) shows sun rays beaming through layers of Earth’s atmosphere, filtering them to a brilliant blue. Wind, dark clouds, and thunder move across the sky, each eliciting a wondering question and an answer in sonorous, metrically consistent verse. (Following a question about wind: “Pressure! That’s what makes me blow./ Cool air moves from high to low.”) Relying on a mixture of observation and questioning, the creators iteratively plumb the natural world “to wonder... WHY?” Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Back matter explains more about each weather phenomenon. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Tricia Lawrence, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Chad W. Beckerman, CAT Agency. (Apr.)