We Go Slow

Via spare, poetic language as well as watercolor and pencil illustrations that take hazy, desaturated hues, Tallie (Layla’s Happiness) and Becker (The Last Zookeeper) celebrate the time shared between a child and caretaker as they together meander through a metropolitan neighborhood. The narrative begins with other household members bustling out the door before the protagonists—a child and an older, mustachioed adult, both portrayed with brown skin—finish breakfast and embark on a leisurely outing. “Outside, we go slow,” reads the book’s refrain. The images, which maintain an en plein air feel, immerse readers in a city landscape, unfolding the characters’ walk in glimpsed vignettes. Everything is worthy of the duo’s admiration: a baby in a carriage, sneakers tangled in telephone wires, and the tactile delight of fruit with “chili/ & a twist of lime.” Whether viewed as a depiction of mindfulness in practice or the quiet joys of together time, this tender story is a reminder of the importance of being in the world with unhurried attention and open hearts. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Linda Pratt, Wernick & Pratt. (Aug.)