Finding Spring

Berger’s (A Perfect Day) crisp, meticulous paper compositions give her work a distinctive, tailored look. Neatly trimmed paper shapes are mounted above fields of muted green and ivory, casting thin slivers of shadow on the page. Maurice, a bear cub, knows he’ll wake up to his first spring, and he’s too excited to sleep. He leaves the cave he shares with his mother to start his search early. Hurrying along a forest path, dwarfed by towering pines, Maurice feels a spark of cold, holds up a snowflake, and mistakes it for something else. “Spring?” he asks. On the Great Hill, he revels in a blizzard of snowflakes, a tour de force of lacy paper shapes, and collects them in his sack. When he awakens months later, his sack is empty, of course, but real spring and a splendid shower of flower petals give him new joy. Even the youngest readers have the satisfaction of knowing more about snow and spring than Maurice does, and the balletic grace of Berger’s artwork provides exceptional visual drama throughout. Ages 4–8. Agent: Brenda Bowen, Sanford J. Greenburger Associates. (Jan.)