Kids are natural explorers, so it’s no wonder that so many children’s books take place outside, where one can observe animals of all kinds, living their lives in their own habitats. Many young readers don’t live near a wilderness area, so illustrated poetry books can meet them where they are while also offering a window onto the natural world. Here are three fine works of children’s literature, all recommended by Kirkus Indie, that ably combine verse and full-color imagery to tell charming tales of creatures great and small:
In 20 Little Poems for 20 Little Gnomes, author Raven Howell offers several lovely, relatable verses in which nature, and its wild residents, add beauty to the narrators’ lives. In “Red Robin’s Gift,” for instance, the speaker—pictured as a happy, raincoated youngster in Nazli Tarcan’s lively, rustic illustration—tells the titular bird, “you’re so kind / to leave for me a bit of you” in a birdhouse: “You’re welcome here at any time— / thank you for the feather!” “The Cone Flower” presents a vivid sketch of bees: “Cones draw drones, / bees hone honey, / nectar nuggets / sweet and sunny.” Other poems mention housecats, bears, and even book-reading mice, and nearly all espouse the wonders of simple, outdoor delights, such as picking berries or catching a snowflake on one’s tongue. Our reviewer highlights the “rhythm, rhyme, and warm emotions” of this notable book.
S.J. Russell’s series starter, To Snail or Not To Snail, presents a casual conversation in verse between a snail and a bee, in which they discuss what they do to help the earth, such as enriching soil or pollinating plants (“How would fruits and flowers re-create,” asks the bee, “if I weren’t there to pollinate?”). All the while, the realistically depicted creatures move through bright nature scenes (captured by artist Kaity Lacy in rich images employing pen-and-ink, watercolors, and pastels). Other animals go about their business along the way, including a frog, a hummingbird, a squirrel, and a comparatively giant deer. “Fabulous Facts” at the book’s end will encourage youngsters to find out more. It’s “a lovely, enlightening tale about how unique roles make ecosystems—and communities—work,” according to Kirkus’ starred review. (A follow-up, To Bird or Not To Bird, depicts a similar conversation between a red-winged blackbird and an earthworm; it also received a Kirkus star.)
Night Critters Play, by Essaboe Kwami Nyamidie, presents a simple poem about creatures who only come out when it’s dark—either to make noise, in the case of owls, frogs, and crickets, or simply to be out in the world without fear of harm, like armadillos, hedgehogs, and porcupines. As morning approaches, the various animals all head back to their homes. Our review highlights one of Nyamidie’s more lyrical passages (“The Milky Way loses all her freckles. / The drowsy leopard stretches her speckles”), as well as Pamela B. Christiansen’s “gorgeously layered” imagery; one painterly illustration of an owl and the Milky Way, our reviewer notes, “could easily be a framed print.” Overall, it’s “visually appealing work that lap readers will want to look at again and again.”
David Rapp is the senior Indie editor.
