OUR WOOLLY BEAR

A brightly colored caterpillar is discovered and adopted by two siblings likewise clad in woolly coats.

After carefully setting their fuzzy find in a cozy nesting spot of pine needles and pebbles, Lou and Edie race home. Reading books and researching on the computer, they learn that the hatchling will overwinter beneath a rock or a log and in spring will wondrously become “an Isabella Tiger Moth with wings of gold.” Meanwhile, as autumn passes into winter, the frizzy-haired siblings snuggle under cozy quilts at home and spot their friend (or perhaps others like it) outside on walks through their woodsy neighborhood. Arthur portrays her black and gold caterpillar(s) with large eyes for an extra measure of visual appeal and depicts the young protagonists in comfy domestic settings when they haven’t bundled up to ramble beneath cloudy skies through chilly but idyllic meadows or down to a beach awash in autumnal light. Residents and visitors who are diverse in skin tone gather at a farmers market in one image. The eye-catching illustrations and the whole tone of the briefly told episode will leave readers feeling snugly wrapped up. And in a final scene, where dark and snowy days of winter give way to spring, a golden-winged moth perches in the foreground as the light-skinned human family gathers to plant a tree on the lawn beyond.

Quiet celebrations of connections with nature and the passage of time.