(2) K-3 "If you are awake, / on the longest cold night, / when the wind curls and frost holds time, / you'll hear her bells and smell the first snow, / when Mother Winter goes walking." This lyrical, luminous winter solstice book exhorts readers to go outside and experience the season's natural wonders. The title character appears in the glowing, moonlit illustrations as a benevolent, larger-than-life figure whose blue cape trails behind while (in the text's refrain) she "goes walking" through a town. Swirls of light and color abound in spectacular cool-toned art whose effect is breathtaking.

Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2022

(4) PS A young bear's soldier father is often away from home. The cub imagines riding in Papa's backpack ("so when he goes I'm near") as they face the enemy together. Despite an uneven rhythm, the text strives to capture emotions and may resonate with children who are missing a military parent on active duty. The stylized illustrations are striking and lend poignancy to the story.

Reviewer: Luther B. Clegg

(4) K-3 On a "dusky dark" night, a boy and his friends, a dog, owl, rabbit, toad, chicken, and flower, dance and howl at the moon and "at life." When the moon gets stuck in an apple tree, the boy climbs up and saves her. Surreal midnight-blue illustrations with pinky-red highlights create the right atmosphere for this abstruse, dreamlike story.

Reviewer: Patricia Riley