Now I See Spring; Now I See Summer; Now I See Fall; Now I See Winter

Frequent creative collaborators Barnett and Klassen (the Shapes Trilogy) capture a year’s rhythms with stunning subtlety via a standout board book quartet that—across volumes named around the four seasons—matches spare text, identical in each work, with varying images that relay the passage of time. Brief first-person observations (“the house// the tree// the garden// me”) propel page turns as narration builds toward the same sentiment in each title: “It’s my favorite time of/ the year.” The artist’s signature-style illustrations, meanwhile, offer portrayals that gently shift across temporal transitions, including “the perfect hat” the narrator sports for each season. In spring, that’s a beanie; in summer, a baseball cap; a red-plaid trapper hat suggests autumn’s cooling temps; and a knit hat signals the arrival of snow. Similarly, changing light and weather convey the passage of time around the same few items: spring spies a feline in a haze of blue-gray; summer’s brightness shines down on a garden blooming with flowers; a luminous blush infuses autumnal scenes; and pale pink meets icy blue as winter’s snow blankets objects that are visible in other books. Leaning into these finely honed differences, the series models quiet satisfaction across an annual cycle, reassuring that whatever the weather, individual perspectives can stay steady. Ages 2–5.(Apr.)