My Forest Is Green

Colorful cut-paper collages adorned with watercolor, acrylic, and pencil crayon illustrate the activities a child uses to piece together an understanding of the city-adjacent forest outside his high-rise apartment building. Starting with simple opposites (“My forest is tall. My forest is short”), the text ripens into a cascade of playful, well-chosen adjectives thoughtfully paired with images of the child observing the forest throughout the year, then working with different art materials to capture facets of his experience. Crayon rubbings show bark’s roughness, sponged paint represents the softness of moss, and found rocks are transformed into turtles, frogs, and fish—“scattered and soggy,/ and spotted and foggy.” Each page offers gentle encouragement to get outside, observe carefully, and create joyfully. A jubilant assemblage of the child’s creative work near the end shows that “my forest is so many things.” Ages 3–7. [em](Apr.) [/em]