When I See You

“Where do you come from, little bird,/ like a ticklefeather in flight?// From ancient moons in outer space,/ the deepest part of night?” Affectionately told from a first-person point of view, this yearning picture book features an expecting parent wishing to visit, via red balloon, the “galaxy” where they imagine their future offspring dwells. In a candy-colored palette, McCarthy depicts the two cavorting happily in space, one portrayed as an adult with brown skin who wears a yellow dress, and the other represented as a dancing, standing toddler-age child with skin that resembles a starry night sky. Standard rhyming verse from Barnes, meanwhile, reveals the duo’s imagined intergalactic adventures: “We could make snow angels/ in cotton-candy clouds// as we float about/ reading our favorite books out loud.” It’s a heartfelt ode to awaiting a new arrival that contemplates both shared adventures and the moment when “you won’t just be a dream.” Ages 4–8. (May)