AT GRANDPA'S SUGAR BUSH

Carney's debut is a paean to sugaring season, that yearly celebration of early spring in the north. A small boy joins his grandfather in the sugar bush to tap trees, gather sap, and boil it into sweet maple syrup. Along the way, the author makes note of wildlife and weather as well as the process of sugaring. Grandfather and grandson notice animal tracks, bird calls, the work of pileated woodpeckers, and snow fleas gathering in their footprints. The book is accurate and interesting, but it's also a visual delight. Wilson's painterly oils add details all their own--a porcupine up a tree, a white-tailed deer in the distance, an exuberantly joyful dog--along with informative close-ups of the sugaring apparatus, and a beautiful moonlit view of the sugar bush at night. Ever so appealing.