Sun Above and Blooms Below: A Springtime of Opposites

In their fourth seasonally themed, concept-driven collaboration (following Sugar White Snow and Evergreens and other titles), Chernesky and Swan allow readers to accompany an ethnically diverse class on a field trip to a farm. As in the earlier books, Chernesky’s upbeat verse puts the concept front and center (“From far away a weather vane/ led us down a crooked lane,/ past straight wood fences, squat red pens./ We parked near barns and clucking hens”), and Swan’s detailed, vividly textured collages invite close study of each page. Ages 4–7. Author’s agent: Susan Hawk, Bent Agency. (Mar.)