Today

This slow-paced meditation by the team behind Listen considers, via a lens of mindfulness, the way that time can seem to quicken and slow. A caring voice addresses a button-nosed, tousle-haired child, portrayed with brown skin, who packs a suitcase, then sits on it in a hall, “counting hours until you’ll see Pop-pop and your cousins again.” As the trip kicks off, the child’s perception of time depends on the feelings that accompany each moment. The day “takes FOREVER... when your parents yak-yak-yak with the neighbors.” When the family arrives, at last, at a summer cottage, excitement makes today seem as if it’s “passing in a flash”—until a wasp sting makes the child wish to “fast-forward away” from the day. Digitally finished multimedia artwork by Graegin mixes vignettes and full spreads to picture slice-of-life experiences among a cast portrayed with various abilities and skin tones. Snyder’s concentration on the sensate (“the smell of blueberry crisp”) leads to techniques for forming memories “you can visit again and again,” even when “today stretches long.” Back matter includes mindfulness exercises. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Natalie Lakosil, Irene Goodman Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House. (Jan.)