SPRING THAW

Schnur (Spring, p. 382, etc.) presents spring in the New England countryside, as experienced by a farmer, his grandson, and a delightful array of woodland creatures. The thaw begins with “a warm wind late at night, sighing through the hemlock trees” and is fully underway with the warm yellow light of the setting sun that causes the farmer to whisper: “Spring, Spring at last.” Children will enjoy the glimpses of rural living: a horse and wagon, maple trees with buckets of sap, doe, raccoon, fuzzy lambs. The illustrations in blue, mauve, and gold appear to have been painted on thread-laced, handmade paper and provide a very literal interpretation of the author’s poetic text, e.g., when red buds are mentioned, every bud depicted is stop-sign red. (Picture book. 4-8)