The Dream

Sterer (If You Make a Call on a Banana Phone) and Henderson (Evidence!) craft a haunting wordless picture book in which the natural world leads a stand for itself. Softly rendered illustrations shift hazily between a sepia-toned reality and blue-tinted dreamlike sequences. Surrounded by environmental devastation—belching smokestacks, deforested land—a pale-skinned young human protagonist encounters a wolf outside their family home. After the youth falls asleep, the paneled art shifts to a deep blue, and the wolf leads the child to an enormous canid composite made of regular-size wolves. The next day, the seeming boundary between dream and reality further blurs; as the previously distinct palettes meld, all manner of creatures grow colossal against various landscapes. In images that recall the work of David Wiesner, insects and fish outsize vehicles, a massive reptile routs loggers, and colossal birds fly over city streets. The child soon rallies peers to join the cause, and as the gargantuan animals look on behind them, the children march into the formation of a determined human figure, hands on hips. Both introspective and urgent, it’s a story pulsing with empowerment that celebrates collective strength. Ages 4–8. (Feb.)