This Is the Nest That Robin Built

Like a fresh spring breeze, Fleming’s cumulative tale celebrates a favorite symbol of the season, a robin’s nest. Beginning with a squirrel “who trimmed the twigs, not too big,/ that anchor the nest that Robin built,” Fleming (5 Little Ducks) introduces several animals that provide the materials the bird needs to craft the resting spot for her “eggs, brittle and blue.” The verse is saturated with alliteration and internal rhymes (“This is the mouse/ who gathered the weeds, dotted with seeds,/ that bind the mud, soft not soupy,/ that plasters the straw, rough and tough...”), and the collage illustrations gain bold, mottled textures from the varied printmaking techniques Fleming used to treat the paper before assembling them. When the nestlings, “tufted and pink,” finally arrive, a foldout spread reveals all of the work that went into the nest; small vignettes show Robin combining twigs, string, straw, mud, and more to put it together. Fleming’s nature scenes pulse with electric shades of green, highlighting the hive of activity that precedes the arrival of a newborn (or three). Ages 2–8. (Mar.)