Last Song

Late Scottish poet and artist Guthrie's spare ode to the heavens ("To the sun/ Who has shone/ All day,/ To the moon/ Who has gone/ Away,/ To the milk-white/ Silk-white/ Lily-white star,/ A fond goodnight/ Wherever you are") provides the framework for Caldecott Medalist Rohmann's (My Friend Rabbit) visual narrative about a family of squirrels. Rohmann's watercolors picture the playful squirrels, with which active siblings will readily identify, racing down their tree and tumbling around, before being called back by a (presumed) parent. The diminutive book ends as it begins, with the squirrels sleeping in a cluster, a reminder that another day's adventures aren't far away. Ages 3–6. (Sept.)