Love Is Here

Vibrant watercolor and gouache scenes make up author-illustrator Malbrough’s poetic paean, which features a brown-skinned child, dark curls escaping the hood of a yellow coat, experiencing the majesty of the natural world. Love infuses everything, the child discovers—from a drenching rainstorm to a flower emerging out of parched soil and beyond, to the mysteries of the universe. “Can love be more amazing than this?” gushes the oft-abstract text, accompanying an effervescent ocean scene. Later, the child follows a string of glowing red butterflies to the moon, discovering an inky galaxy: “And even beneath the blinking/ stars, love gazes back.// Do you see it?” When the protagonist comes face-to-face with a lighter-skinned child, it’s a chance to see how wonder can be shared—a fitting conclusion to this ebullient book. Ages 4–8. (Dec.)