What Will Grow?

In a quietly lovely follow-up to 2013’s What Will Hatch? Ward repeats the question of the title as she describes a dozen varieties of seeds and the plants and trees they grow into. “Roly, round./ Rain-soaked ground./ What will grow?/ Peas,” she begins as a yellow worm peers at pea plants snaking up a trellis. Ghahremani’s art is playful yet refined, and the soft textures of the wood she paints on bring warmth to vignettes of dandelion-laden meadows, pumpkins stalked by a fox, and frosty winter fields. Well-integrated gatefolds add drama to some scenes, opening vertically to accommodate towering sunflowers or subterranean carrots (“Flowery fruit./ Orange root”). It’s an enchanting vision of how strikingly different seeds and plants can be, and closing notes explain how and when to plant all 12 types of seeds. Ages 3–6. [em]Agent: Stefanie Von Borstel, Full Circle Literary. (Feb.) [/em]