Would You Come Too?
by Liz Garton Scanlon; illus. by Diana Sudyka
Primary    Beach Lane/Simon    40 pp.    g
4/22    978-1-5344-5206-0    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-1-5344-5207-7    $10.99

“If we were walls, we’d have windows, and we’d throw them open wide.” A child with brown hair and dark skin invites a red-haired, light-skinned friend to come outside to play; together, the two immerse themselves in the natural world and in their imaginations. They begin at a backyard pond (“If we were a pond, we’d lap in the breeze”) before venturing to the banks of a stream (“If we were a bank, we’d be muddy”) and building a nest near a tree (“If we were eggs, we’d be safe there”). Sudyka’s (How to Find a Bird, rev. 7/20; Dear Treefrog, rev. 5/21) digitally finished watercolor gouache illustrations are full of movement and soothing rounded shapes. The pictures—with swirls of blue water and creatively rendered creatures—interpret Scanlon’s (One Dark Bird, rev. 7/19) poetic verse beautifully, blending fantasy and awe. Three more friends join in the play, and the text directly addresses readers: “Would you come too, if we asked you—would you run all the way to the sea?” Finally, when “the day turn[s] to darkness,” the journey ends back where it started—at home. An irresistible invitation to readers to take in nature and all the world has to offer.

From the May/June 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.