(2) K-3 Illustrated by Jackie Traverse. Daniel's (Sometimes I Feel like a Fox; Sometimes I Feel like a River) latest offering invites readers to commune with trees. Short first-person verses assign attributes to twelve different trees ("Sometimes I feel like a maple, / full and most generous... / Sometimes I feel like a birch, / smooth and fresh, anew"), following the cycle of the year from early spring to late winter. Traverse's lush acrylic and gouache illustrations never depict a tree in its entirety, with the tops always breaking the edge of the page. This choice suggests that art cannot fully capture the trees' majesty and en-courages readers to imagine what lies beyond the confines of the page, reinforcing Daniel's core concept that there is more to trees than meets the eye. Back matter offers thumbnail images of each tree, restating their names and highlighting the attributes Daniel's verses assigned to them--generosity for the maple, optimism for the birch, and so on. A closing author's note begins, "Like my Algonquin ancestors, I believe that trees are ­sentient beings with spirits who can feel things," prompting readers to reflect on what they, in turn, feel as they consider this Indidenous perspective and how it inspired this book.

Reviewer: Megan Dowd Lambert | Horn Book Magazine Issue: May, 2024

(2) PS A child explores the outdoors on a sunny day, observing living things all around: a tall, verdant tree and animals on land, in the air, and underwater. Author Daniel gives voice to each of these living entities: "I'm afraid," says a leaf in the air. The tree from which the leaf fell tells it, however, that it's not alone. A bird nestled in the same tree notes: "I could fall," and the wind replies, as the yellow bird soars through the air: "I will lift you." And so it goes: the stream provides water to a thirsty skunk; a fish provides camaraderie to a lonely crab; the creek cools a hot bear; the grass comforts a worried deer; and more. Daniel stresses the interdependence of living things, stating in a short appended note that "every single living thing depends on another living thing" (such as, for instance, the story's "bored" mushrooms that accept a mouse's invitation to play). The illustrations in thick acrylics are inventive: in one spread, a butterfly's wing, adorned with a pupil-like shape, overlaps with the child's left eye as that eye looks at a snail needing encouragement, and in the final spread, the child sleeps under a full moon while dreaming of creatures. James personifies the animals, many of them with tears and frowns. It's an empathetic primer for the youngest of readers on the interconnectedness of all living things on our planet.

Reviewer: Julie Danielson | Horn Book Magazine Issue: July, 2024

(3) K-3 Inspired by the titular infrequent full moon, the astute narrators of these fourteen four-line, free-verse poems observe what they see "once in a blue moon." The poems convey, in an understated way, the quiet joy that comes from pausing and looking at fireflies, butterflies, shooting stars, and other natural wonders. Naive-style acrylic-gouache and pencil illustrations suit the simple words.

Reviewer: Carolyn Shute

(3) K-3 As explained in the author's note, Anishinaabe people believe in totem animals, clans that exemplify certain traits. Daniel, who is Métis, created this small, unusual book to teach her son about his culture and to encourage others to learn about their own clans. Soft acrylic paintings showing children in stylized animal masks appear opposite four-line poems focusing on each totem's character traits.

Reviewer: Melinda Greenblatt