I Perch on the Porch by Laura Purdie Salas & Illus by Mercé López

I perch on the porch, 

spooky face frozen in place,

fire burning inside. 

--From Lion of the Sky: Haiku for All Seasons

Under a Mushroom by Anita Lobel

This is a wacky little book that only the 1970s could have produced. 

Mushrooms, fairy folk, wildflowers. Yep, that's the 1970s. 

This is about a family of trolls with their cozy little house under a mushroom. 

Mrs. Troll loves the "pleasant, peaceful way" they live, but Mr. Troll thought it was a bit tame. 

One night as it begins to pour down rain, travellers ask them if they can shelter under the mushroom from the rain. Mr. Troll is thrilled! 

As more and more creatures seek shelter under the mushroom, finally Mr. Troll has a little excitement!

Unfortunately the poor mushroom could not contain that many creatures having a wild party and disaster struck.

Now no one had shelter from the rain. 

When the rain cleared, a whole new crop of mushrooms appeared, giving the Troll family their choice of new homes. 

Mrs. Troll breathes a sigh of relief and starts cozy-ing up their new home. 

Mr. Troll, wanting to ensure their life does not descend into quietness again, invites all their guests to make their home in the new mushroom development. So life is never boring or quiet again. 

But poor Mrs. Troll--she liked their quiet and peaceful life before. But too bad for her. 

As I said, it is a weird little book. Why couldn't poor Mrs. Troll have a nice, quiet life? Sigh. Life is just a vale of sorrows for women. 

I wish there was a sequel where Mrs. Troll got to have things quiet again. 

Reward for Raking by Laura Purdie Salas & Illus by Mercé López

Reward for raking: 

A crispy crowd of loud crunch 

when you jump in me.

--From Lion of the Sky: Haiku for all Seasons

You are Home by Evan Turk

I have always loved the National Parks. As a kid I poured over Ansel Adams pictures and made roadtrip plans for my future, driver-licensed self. Ironically, I never was able to visit a national park until I was in my twenties. I mean we lived in New York. There is no national park anywhere near New York. Being an east coaster is tough. 

When I saw that this book was an ode to the national parks, I was immediately biased in its favor. 

Sorry, subjectivity is not my strong suit. 

In gorgeous illustrations, Turk goes through all the people and animals the parks belong to. 

Bison!

Fireflies!

City kids, country kids!

The style sort of reminds of some of Georgia O'Keefe's pictures. And I love it. 

Native Americans

Isn't this gorgeous?!

So dramatic!

And then, there is a big fold out.

And a listing of all the national parks in the system and the ones pictured in the book. 

See New York/New England/Mid Atlantic? A desert of national parks.