Text and pictures blend seamlessly in this outstanding offering—no mean feat, as Roemer’s rhymes are all shaped to evoke seasonal sights: the V’s of nestlings’ open beaks and skeins of migrating geese, the fall of raindrops, the twist of a garden hose, the paths of “Dancing Leaves” in autumn. Read aloud, the verses irresistibly invite audience participation—“I take my little rake and my hoe, hoe, hoe; / And break up clods of dirt in each row, row, row”—but lend themselves to silent appreciation too, as color changes, type sizes, and artful placement work together to make them easily legible, even to less-practiced readers. Takahashi folds the shaped lines into her simple, richly hued outdoor scenes with seeming effortlessness, letting words not only rest within the compositions, but become elements of them, as Christmas tree branches, menorah candles, an owl’s crest, dandelion fluff. She also adds visual surprises and stories of her own, from a child’s face that dramatically transforms into a snowman’s across the gutter to a teeter-tottering mother and daughter with different skin tones. A strong debut for Roemer and Takahashi’s most inventive work yet. (Picture book/poetry. 6-9)
