EVERY COLOR OF LIGHT

There is nary a human in this song of praise to the natural world.

This Japanese import opens on a stretch of verdant land and, in the distance, mountaintops. Never leaving this view, author and illustrator explore the effects of the elements on this patch of land and the varied colors that result. The rain falls so hard that it slants. Thunder roars and lightning flashes. When the storm ends, the air clears, and colors shimmer. When evening comes, the moon appears. Birds return, stars sparkle, and the text bids goodnight to the “Spirit of Rain” in the sky. Osada’s sensory text is written in a satisfyingly economical and precise manner: “Setting, the light turns everything golden. Stilling, the water shines silver.” Sprinkled throughout the text is punchy, onomatopoeic language, such as “boom, bah-bah-BOOM!” for thunder. Arai’s lush, atmospheric landscape art is remarkably textured, with what appear to be scratches in the art for the driving rain. Appropriately, the palette is the star of the show; readers see every mood of Mother Nature and her corresponding colors: all shades of green imaginable; warm pastel shades of light filling the sky; vivid, golden, post-rain hues. There’s a subtle moment of whimsy when “stars…share their stories,” and readers see small shapes in the night sky (a squirrel, a saxophone). Colors fade with the children listening: “We’re all / falling / … / soundly / … / asleep…."

Simply spectacular.