Nature’s Day: Discover the World of Wonder on Your Doorstep

Maguire explains how the seasons bring growth, development, and change in nine environments in the Northern Hemisphere: a garden, vegetable patch, woods, farm, field, pond, orchard, and quaint street of townhouses. Kroll’s airy digital illustrations of animals, plants, and people are scattered across matte, cream-colored pages, a format reminiscent of a picture dictionary. Fruits and vegetables fill a vegetable patch in summer: “Poke around in the soil with your fingers and you should feel the firm tops of carrots beneath their feathery leaves,” Maguire advises. In winter, a snow-covered garden is brightened by the red of a cardinal, clusters of berries, and the snowsuit of child making snow angels. A quietly informative look at seasonal change in a range of settings. Ages 5–8. (Mar.)