On All Fours

Throughout a lively picture book, Dorémus (My Baby Crocodile) captures simple miracles of moving the body and exploring the world. Observational text—“On all fours, here I am on Earth”—accompanies saturated spreads of an ambling blue bear cub. The bear’s exploration encompasses two paws coming off the sun-warmed ground (“Hot, hot, hot!”), as well as four paws “dancing over little stones” and “feeling the tickly grass.” Texturally rich spreads attend to splashing water, sloppy mud, and slippery slides as the cub meets the small mishaps that befall new navigators. Just when the cub, having reached “the edge of the world,” needs attention most, a large, comforting caregiver appears, and the cub finds a new way to move back across what initially seemed quite the distance, using “two legs for crossing the meadow. And two arms for giving a great, big hug.” Masses of color, fine lines, and comforting words capture an era of young life when commonplace experiences are new. Ages 3–5. (Jan.)