Gather Grateful

Spare verse from Litwin affectingly builds to convey autumnal priorities, from food- to community-gathering, in this companionable picture book. A creaturely opening establishes the theme, spotlighting a sleek-nosed red fox and fluffy-tailed squirrels (“Gather acorns. Gather seed./ Gather all young mouths will need”). Eventually, the animals converge, and rhyming prose shifts to human-centered, with figures who “gather, cuddle, hug, greet.” It’s at this moment that Finkeldey’s wispy gouache and acrylic ink renderings shift from yam-colored outdoor scenes with the occasional blue accent to cerulean domestic spaces with rust accoutrements. Naturally, a feast is enjoyed by the group, pictured with skin of varying blues. Simple closing lines tie together animalian and non-animalian threads, articulating the way seasonal change unites species: “Gather outside. Gather in.// Cozy time can now begin.” Ages 3–7. (Sept.)