You Are Part of the Wonder

Doyle (Dreams for Our Daughters) and Teckentrup (My Little Book of Big Questions) open their lilting, lushly visualized exhortation about the natural world with something of a dare. As a brown-skinned child and their dog stand on a porch and gaze up at the sky, text reads, “There’s a bird/ outside your window/ with a song that’s full of sky,/ and it wonders why/ you stay inside/ when you are free to fly?” Subsequent spreads, whose decorative style resembles translucent, feathery cyanotypes and printmaking techniques, show a cast of children portrayed with various skin tones, while imperative rhyming couplets invite each to contemplate, explore, and observe the outdoors. “Feel the tickles of tadpoles/ as the stream cools your feet,” finds a child perched on a rock surrounded by a profusion of flowers, carefully dipping a pointed toe into turquoise water dotted with tiny black figures. As the seasons change, and the settings move from meadows to a city park, the predominating message is clear: come outside—and come as you are. “You are part of the wonder/ and joy Nature brings,/ of the beauty and magic/ in all living things.” Ages 4–8. (Feb.)