Snowman – Cold = Puddle: Spring Equations

Salas posits that fully experiencing the seasons means looking through the lenses of both scientific study and art: “science + poetry = surprise!/ Science is why and how a/ flower grows. Poetry is/ looking at that flower and/ seeing a firework. Surprise!” In the early spring, “warmth + light = alarm clock.” Salas explains that “hibernating animals wake up when spring days/ grow warmer and stronger.” Elsewhere, “bark + beak = drum.” The beak belongs to a woodpecker tapping against a tree “to claim its territory/ or attract a mate.” Archer’s torn paper collage and oil art offers sharp contrast in visual textures and colors. A bright, feathery blue and green river flows past a yellow riverbank; above lies the white of the melting snow. Elsewhere, child characters play and explore outdoors, one boy climbing a tree to the sound of frog songs (“frogs + night = symphony”). Nature, the book suggests, offers abundant surprises to those who take the time to notice. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)