Where the Deer Slip Through

“This is the hedge that grew and grew./ The wall of stone a bit askew./ They guard the yard./ The barn does, too.” Gracefully rhythmic verse from late creator Howes (The Reindeer Remainders) celebrates the in-between places through which animals steal. Striking scratchboard spreads show a farm surrounded by rolling hills and dense woods as Caldecott Medalist Krommes uses her signature medium—fine, meticulously etched lines tinged with watercolor against black backgrounds—to create atmospheric illustrations that pulse with dramatic contrast. A dawn spread shows a space where the stone wall has crumbled, creating a gap “where the deer slip through,/ when the sky is still more pink than blue.” A doe and two fawns venture into the garden before retreating, and other secret places (“the hollow the rabbits squeeze through” and “the crack where the lizards creep through”) join the first in building cumulative verses. At nightfall, the lines slow to a sigh, falling silent as humans and deer doze in this lilting hymn to the way woodland life can lurk in surprising places. Human characters are portrayed with pale skin. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Essie White, Storm Literary. (June)