In Between by April Pulley Sayre with Jeff Sayre

April Pulley Sayre created beautiful nonfiction and informational books, with poetic text and exquisite photographs. Her husband and collaborator, Jeff Sayre, finished this last book, which is a gentle meditation on transitions, endings, and beginnings.

The text celebrates both prepositions, like under, over, and in between, while illustrating them with a variety of photos. Baby birds are shown tucked in a nest, between two pieces of wood; a baby rabbit takes its first awkward steps, birds lift off, spread their wings, alight, and drift off to sleep. Dragonflies metamorphose, frogs swim up with tadpole tails and new legs, and it ends with a roseate spoonbill, soaring through the sky.

This isn't as straight-forward as her previous books, like Raindrops Roll or Nuts Nuts Nuts, since this alternates free verse and lightly rhymed poetry expressing abstract thoughts. However, the real attraction for me in this book is the beautiful collection of Sayre's photographic work, combining a wide variety of photos that can prompt young readers to further investigation or older children to their own reflections and poetry.

Verdict: A lovely tribute and final book for a powerful creator, this is well worth adding to your library shelves.

ISBN: 9781534487819; Published March 2023 by Beach Lane Books; Purchased for the library; Review copy provided by publisher