If You Go Walking

Others may collect “berries,/ Or pebbles,/ Or wildflowers” on their nature walks, but in a gentle work that gives voracious curiosity its due, a young narrator collects questions. Whether walking alone with a dog or with family members, the child approaches the world with a sense of discovery, their bright brown eyes and round black eyeglasses acting as windows into an always-processing mind. Alladin (Wait Like a Seed) alternates between spreads that showcase information gathered with those that supply queries. “I know birds get round with fluffed-up feathers in the cold, just like me in my puffy jacket,” the narrator says, as tidbits about natural insulation (“a fluffy layer that keeps out the cold”) appear in callout boxes. But this information raises a host of further questions, including “Do wild birds go hungry without any bird feeders?” Leaping visually across seasons from spring to the end of a snowy winter, it’s a thoughtful tribute to the power of observation. Collaged artwork by Sato (Chidori) brings dimensionality to nature’s biological and aesthetic wonders—from a snow’s artful dusting to the fluff of a bird’s feathers. Characters read as East Asian. Ages 4–7. (Nov.)