Lawrence in the Fall, written by Matthew Farina and illustrated by Doug Salati. Disney/Hyperion. Hachette. 2019. $17.99 ages 3 and up

"Lawrence and Papa spotted
beautiful rocks that the river
had collected on its sandy
floor.

But the rocks were too hard
to reach, so the foxes kept
going.

As they trotted along, tiny
droplets began to fall ... "

Poor Lawrence! His teacher has asked he and his classmates to bring a collection to school and to talk about it. The rest of the children (turtle, lamb, duckling, kitten, piglet) are beside themselves with excitement, and can't wait to show their valued collections: playing cards, coins, silk ribbons, combs, marbles. Lawrence has nothing. What will he do?

His tears and worries inspire his father to suggest day trip to the nearby forest. Lawrence is not convinced they will find anything there. He follows his father deep into the forest's darkness, always looking carefully for something that might make an appealing and unusual group of materials to call a collection. During a sudden rainstorm, he falls behind and loses sight of his father. Alone, he finds himself in a quiet clearing.

A tree makes the only noise Lawrence can hear: a soft rustling of leaves. When those leaves begin to fall, Lawrence is stunned by the beauty in their colors. By the time his father finds him, Lawrence has made a decision about a worthwhile collection. His turn to share at school is a huge success as Lawrence tells his classmates about his collection and what he has learned about the trees in the forest; he offers to let each and every one pick a favorite leaf to keep.

Accompanying artwork is drawn with pencil and digitally colored, and it shares the beauty of the forest in fall with readers. The color palette is done in muted greens, blues, and browns, with hints of brighter colors when the autumn leaves begin to fall. Emotional and expressive, young children will understand the importance of finding a collection to share. Front endpapers show the collections that are important to Lawrence's classmates, while the ones at the back show labelled outlines of the leaves Lawrence has collected on the trip with his Papa.

If his friends want to find more leaves, Lawrence is now the perfect guide.