Outside Your Window: A First Book of Nature by Nicola Davies

Poems paired with exquisite illustrations celebrate the seasons.

What I thought: I enjoyed this collection. I like that the poems are arranged by season. My favorite poems are "Catkin Song," "Dandelions," "Cherry Blossoms," "Shell Song," "Spiderlings," "Worms," "Winter Trees," and "Patchwork Pigeons." Mark Hearld's mixed media illustrations are gorgeous. This was a hard book to stop looking at. My favorite illustrations are Nesting, Flowers/Honey, Shell Song, Chickens, Spiderlings, and Just Ducks. I can't wait to see what he illustrates next.

(Illus. Mark Hearld. CAndlewick, 2012)