(2) PS "Night lights, streetlights, flashlights, and table lamps" often shine against a childhood fear: the Dark. Here gently curved indigo outlines form the Dark's broad hands and soft face as it hides from glaring lights and frightened people trying to ward it away. Tired of being shunned, the Dark disappears, leaving people with only the light. Slowly, though, a young boy--who had been afraid of the Dark--begins to realize that without it, many beautiful things have also disappeared: the song of crickets, the twinkling of the stars, the hooting of owls. Imbued with the sense of something missing, the young boy sets out to "find the Dark and persuade the Dark to return." Along the way, he meets a burglar who misses the Dark for the shadows it provides; a poet, too, joins them because "there is no mystery without the Dark"; a gardener longing for the scent of night-blooming jasmine falls in line. Their company continues to expand as others learn of their purpose. When at last the Dark hears the crowd's shouting and returns, everyone's previous fear transforms gradually into acceptance and welcome. Stringer's watercolor illustrations beautifully capture a world bathed in both stark light and soft darkness, and her lyrical text, with a storyteller's cadence, calls out for repeated readings.

Reviewer: Grace McKinney | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(2) PS Evoking the experience of watching leaves falling en masse, acrylic and watercolor paintings feature swirls and swoops of yellow leaves against black tree trunks and branches. One by one, children (and a dog) head outdoors, full of anticipation. There are no surprise twists, just a gentle appreciation of the joys of using your senses to notice the seasons turn.

Reviewer: Susan Dove Lempke | Horn Book Magazine Issue: September, 2016

(2) K-3 Although Stringer overplays the degree of collaboration between composer and choreographer, there's no doubt that they created something beautifully, brutally new in The Rite of Spring in 1913 Paris. Acrylic illustrations dance right along in a sweep of movement and color that owes as much to Matisse as to their own lively spirit. Notes about the ballet and Stringer's visual inspirations are appended. Bib.

Reviewer: Roger Sutton | Horn Book Magazine Issue: March, 2013

(3) K-3 You may think winter's the coldest season, but as the book's swirling illustrations and simple text attest, it's actually the warmest--filled with hot baths, clanging radiators, and cozy hugs. Complete with bundled-up snow play, hibernating animals, and steaming comfort food, this celebration is an inviting approach to wintertime.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin