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Wednesday, March 27, 2019

My Forest Is Green, written by Darren Lebeuf and illustrated by Ashley Barron. Kids Can Press, 2019. $18.99 ages 3 and up

"My forest is tall.

My forest is short.

My forest is fluffy.

My forest is prickly.

My forest is rough.

My forest is smooth."

This is a truly amazing concept book for little ones who have an abiding interest in the outdoors, and what can be found there. The child narrator has knowledge of the forest he knows so well, and is a welcome presence as we trek through it with him.

He sees it from his apartment's window when he wakes in the morning. He loves it so much that he also has created images of it to hang on the walls at home. It is evident that he is an artist, and sees his outdoor forest with an artist's eye, noting its textures, its weather, its colors, and recreating what he sees, when he gets home with found objects and an artist's supplies.

He describes its many assets in simple declarative sentences that have real appeal for a child reader's senses and understanding. He uses his eyes, hands, and ears to make discoveries as he ventures along its pathways, then replicates what he sees in his journal first, and then in the art he creates once he  returns home.

There is such joy in his discoveries and it is evident in the remarkable collage images created to accompany his story. This is a book that will be requested on numerous occasions. It may even spark artistic experimentation. 

It offers peace and inspiration.

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