A Song of Gladness: A Story of Hope for Us and Our Planet

Beginning with “a wake-up call,” animals share a conceit that builds to a heartening message of planetary care in this obliquely conceptual picture book. After a pale-skinned human narrator chats with a blackbird, the bird sings to a “fox half asleep in the garden shed”—from there, an “idea” (never fully defined) moves to a deer, then to a kingfisher, otter, and so on, until the communique reaches creatures in sundry globe-spanning habitats. Circling back to the original duo, the message transitions to a “song of forgiveness,” and the blackbird urges human participation: “We want you... to be happy again. Only then will you treat us and the world right.” Via expressive lines, Morpurgo provokes reflection about what it might take to alter humans’ relationship to nature. Rendered in pencil and watercolor as well as digitally, Gravett’s fauna are depicted with friendly realism; a closing human chorus pictures people of varied ages and skin tones singing in concert. An author’s note concludes. Ages 3–6. (Mar.)