Forest

Drawing inspiration from a Gary Snyder epigraph (“Nature is not a place to visit. It is home”), alliterative and assonant rhymes effectively connect nature to home in this stirring forest ode. Spare text builds charismatically from “the forest is...” to portray woods as lively, life-sustaining environments (with “trills and tweets,/ food to eat”) populated by a range of canopy- and hole-dwelling creatures. Set mostly against a paper-white sky, naïf-style washes work synergistically with the text to present many views of forest-life. A family of bears plays among birch trunks, while an owl, moth, and squirrel nearly blend in with the bark of their arboreal resting spot (“It’s a fun play space/ and a hiding place”). Later, a branch (“shelter from a storm”) protects a ladybug from much larger gray raindrops. As the conclusion comes full circle, Matheson offers a definition of “forest” that feels deeply resonant in its interconnected comprehensiveness. An author’s note and resources conclude. Ages 4–6. (Apr.)