Through the Forest

A “deep, dark forest” becomes both setting and metaphor in this pensive picture book. “I was searching for something, but did not know what,” narrates a pale-skinned boy in a red cap, confessing to being lost. When he meets a giant ghostly figure named Emptiness, the sympathetic creature agrees to join the child’s search, and together they stumble upon objects—a pinwheel, a broken vase, a harmonica—that symbolize memories, fond and difficult alike. Li’s atmospheric watercolor, ink, and digital scenes hazily convey the forest through which the duo travel, lending the story a dreamy vibe. When the pair arrive at a lush meadow of pastel wildflowers, Emptiness, full of the objects they found, stays behind, explaining that the memories will always be there to guide the child now venturing forth—a soothing message for those in need of direction. Ages 5–8. (Apr.)