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Lush colors and textures fill the pages of this sweet guessing game for young listeners.
The opening pages show a green landscape and a flower-bedecked house, with a child and dog starting down a pathway for a walk. The child has white skin and brown hair. Each landscape is introduced and then listeners are invited to guess the answer to rhyming couplets of what they see and hear. The game starts in a garden, a lush explosion of color surrounded by a picket fence, and readers can guess the buzzing sounds of a bee, the beating wings of a hummingbird, and the "lacy wings" of a butterfly. A green meadow with a stone wall, and a turquoise brook meandering between rocks offer the opportunity to find and guess deer, fish, and other occupants. The last few pages show thumbnails of the child in the different landscapes, looking and listening, and ending with them holding the dog and a bouquet of flowers. Back matter adds details for each ecosystem and creature.
The busy pictures mimic a thriving ecosystem with grasses, flowers, insects, animals, and plants in a happy disarray. Each picture offers not only clues to the guessing game, but a close inspection will reveal the actual creature hiding on the page, and then a clearer illustration on the following page. This makes it perfect for toddlers and preschoolers, but does form a little bit of an odd juxtaposition with the child, who appears to be a tween, not a young child.
Despite this minor quibble, it's a great addition to guessing game books and a strong choice for toddler storytimes, especially if you live in an area with a similar range of ecosystems and can pair it with outdoor programs encouraging similar expeditions to look and listen.
Verdict: A beautiful and fun book that encourages young observers and offers a range of extension activities for storytimes and programs from toddlers to preschoolers. Recommended.
ISBN: 9780823443468; Published June 2022 by Margaret G. Ferguson; Borrowed from another library in my consortium
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