Year Round

Weber stirringly organizes a northerly annum’s chronology into winter questions, spring feelings, summer wishes, and fall thoughts in this exuberant seasonal accounting, which features appealing, perspective-distorted gouache and acrylic paintings. Winter’s rhyming queries center around short-day experiences: “Can you peel a clementine all in one go?// Can you hear the hushushush of the falling snow?” Vernal changes evoke emotional highs and lows, with art suggesting a dual interpretation of “bouts of butterflies, fluttering thunder.” Summer wishes prove largely of the ice cream and waterplay variety, with one gorgeous tapestry-like sunset image representing the solstice. Finally, autumn happenings take on an academic tone as lines remark upon lessons, and a closing school-set scene jovially invites readers to embrace year-round connection. The book’s playful vibe, and mixture of introspective musings and emblematic moments, give it an enduring appeal. Figures are depicted with various skin tones. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)