Time to Move South for Winter

A juvenile Arctic tern leaves her northerly birthplace at winter’s start and, “in search of summer in the sky,” flies to Antarctica in this empathetic migration story. Via this tern’s-eye view and through gentle repetition, Welsh also signals how other long-hauler species respond to changing seasons: the tern sees humpback whales diving for “summer in the waves,” caribou “in search of summer in the hills,” and monarch butterflies gliding toward “the promise of shelter.” Løvlie’s undulating illustrations portray a tern gazing at the aurora borealis and sweetly accepting a mouthful of fish from her mate. Though the bird’s visible maturation goes unexplored in the text, perhaps confusingly for young readers, the creators feature a humble hero taking on a truly incredible journey. Back matter includes blurbs about migrating species mentioned. Ages 4–8. (Oct.)