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

I'm Red, Delicious by Laura Purdie Salas & Illus by Mercé López

I'm red, delicious--

with a quick twist of your wrist,

I'm free from the tree. 

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

Seasons by Lexbolex

This book is terrific. This author/illustrator won the Golden Letter award for best book design in the WHOLE WORLD. I didn't even know there was such a thing. Must go search up a list of winners....

Okay, don't bother. It appears to be a very European thing that US publishers don't participate in and seems to be very.... well abstract. It is more about the book itself, not the content as much. So if you are interested in the book as a design statement, you would love it. If you are just looking for lovely illustrations, they don't seem to be as plentiful or important. 

But I love these illustrations!

They remind me of vintage travel posters.

We are almost at this point of spring. About five buds on the apple tree have opened. SO EXCITED.

Lexbolex works with silk screen, which explains the layered look of different objects and the lack of intricate detail.

This makes me think of 1950's road trips to National Parks in the summer. 

Any book with geese in v-formation is sort of a favorite of mine. 

This was an interesting book because there was only one word per page, but 180 pages in the book. So it feels way too thick to be a picture book, but that is what it is. 

Imagine! 180 pages of this sort of delight. 

I am very thrilled that spring is just hitting it's stride, but this picture makes me look forward to winter a teensy weensy bit. 

But not enough to want to skip over spring and summer and fall at all.

Interestingly, this book goes through a year and a half, not just one go through of each season.

Cows! Calves!

It is warm for the first time in forever and breezy. And this is how I feel! 

First thunderstorm of the season last night. And I totally slept through it. Boo! But yay! for sleep!

Pretty partial to farming things.

I really tried to not take a picture of every single page. But it was hard. 

Children of the Forest by Elsa Beskow

Elsa Beskow is magical. Her books are detailed and cozy, sparking all the right sorts of imagination. 

This book is one of my favorite simply because of the toadstool caps. I didn't even read it and I loved it, based solely on that fact.

"Deep in the forest, under the curling roots of an old pine tree, was a small house."

I am already captivated. 

Just in case you needed to see their little toadstool caps a little closer. 

The four children are named Tom, Harriet, Sam and Daisy

Delivering things to squirrels

The thing with cozy books is that too cozy is boring. So Elsa Beskow adds in dangerous snakes that their father can fight while he is safe in his pinecone armour, forest trolls, and other small little dangers that keep the book from getting sugary sweet. 

Working on the mushroom harvest

The moon telling the forest people that summer must come to an end. 

Looking for suitable schooling for the children

School in session

First snow!

In winter they trade their red toadstool caps for cunning little green caps trimmed in white fur.

And then, spring comes around again! Joy! 

Bringing the Outside In by Mary McKenna Siddals & Illus by Patrice Barton

Oh May and June. All those dandelion, apple blossom, and lilac bouquets. The discoveries and finds that were hidden under the melting snow. The wild asparagus discovered on morning walks and kept in a vase on the counter until it is sizzled up for supper. The dirt and sand covering the hallway floor. The fresh air blowing in after a winter of tightly closed windows. The new mown grass tracked in after dew covered exploration... 

We are bringing the outside in. 

This sweet book follows four kids through the four seasons.

The text is rhythmic and simple, perfect keeping tiny listeners attention.

I am not entirely sure if they are all family, but they look like it. Which is pretty cool. You don't see mixed families very often in books. 

Summer

Fall

Winter

Coziness!!

All those treasures and pictures and stories and memories...

I adore kids loving the outside.

Mommy's lap and pictures and stories of outside. 

Can life get better? I submit that it cannot. 

Fort Building Time by Megan Wagner Lloyd & Illus by Abigail Halpin

This book is outrageously cute!! 

It is also another my-sister-brought-this-book-to-me book. She really has the most lovely taste. 

My kids are fort builders. Last week, when we were in the midst of that horrendous cold, we had a cold snowday. Really, it was only negative 10F or so, which is nothing much for up  in the frozen north, but the windchill was hovering close to negative 40F, so all the local schools closed. 

By nine o'clock in the morning, I had three different blanket forts going in my living room. 

Seriously, these pictures! The colors! The cuteness! 

They decorated their snow fort with evergreen!!

There is a mention of daffodils and pussywillows on the same page as colorful umbrellas. Swoon!

I think everyone needs bright umbrellas. Just to cheer each other up when it is wet and gloomy out. 

#childhoodgoals

#lifegoals

I want to be these kids. There is really not enough sword play in my life. 

That is a joke!  But seriously, I want to do more wood exploring. Maybe that should be a New Year's Resolutions. And yes, I make New Year's resolutions all January long. Sometimes into February and March. 

Isn't the bark texture interesting? It looks like a sweater knit actually. 

And a layered cake on a canoe ride--!! These kids have style. 

Sometimes forts fall. Like when annoying younger siblings come poking around. 

But still, even in the mess, there is fun to be had.