HOW ROBIN SAVED SPRING

An original pourquoi tale presents Lady Winter, who’s distinctly reluctant to yield to slumbering Sister Spring, and a bevy of animals who work to thwart her. She knits cold white blankets, one to keep Sister Spring abed and the others to use on the first creatures who try to wake her, Bear and Caterpillar. Maple Tree, Ladybug and Skunk all come to different griefs before Robin flies high to Mother Sun for her light, successfully waking Sister Spring but burning his breast in the process. There’s a little too much going on here, and young readers will wonder where Summer and Fall might figure in this family. But Ceccoli supplies some beautifully Renaissance compositions and a lovely pale palette that modulates beautifully from winter to spring, which compensate pretty well for narrative weaknesses. (Picture book. 5-8)