Clover
by Nadine Robert ; illus. by Qin Leng ; trans. from French by Nick Frost and Catherine Ostiguy
Primary    Milky Way    64 pp.       g
9/22     978-1-9902-5214-3     $19.99

“I simply can’t decide what I want to do.” Standing frozen on the doorstep, young Clover struggles to choose—should she go mushroom picking? Or to the river to look for mussels? There are so many things to do around her family’s goat farm. Reminded by her brother that there are no wrong answers, Clover opts to go to the river, where she sees her goat, Peony, disappearing into the forest. To find Peony, Clover journeys alone into the forest, making important decisions along the way. Keep going or turn back? Go left or right? She asks a tree, a stream, and the wind, but they don’t offer any advice. Still, Clover finds strength and learns to act quickly and decisively in the process. Leng’s engaging ink and watercolor illustrations add an inviting visual narrative. This story about decision-making and self-trust is also an homage to nature and its power—­sometimes wild and scary, at other times soothing, calming, and inspiring.

From the November/December 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.