Isabella’s Garden

In this hyper-stylized, horticulturally themed riff on “The House That Jack Built,” Isabella and her friends plant “seeds/ that sleep in the soil,/ all dark and deep,” a simple act that results not only in a field of flowers, but also in a powerful connection to the ever-changing, always growing glories of nature. Not to mention its abundance: every spread is filled to the brim with Cool’s full-bleed paintings and (increasingly) Australian author Millard’s verse. Millard’s fondness for extravagant language and pathetic fallacy (buds are “all velvety-skinned,” clouds “cry the rain,” and a mantis “prays to the moon/ that winter comes never or not quite so soon”) commands attention, but the cumulative structure means there’s no escaping an overwrought line. Cool, making her debut, also lets out all the stops: her folkloric spreads—exploding with vibrant colors, collaged elements, and an encyclopedia of motifs—begin to take on a distinctly trippy quality, an impression that isn’t mitigated by a cast of characters that all share the same almond-eyed, straight-ahead stare. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)