OVER IN THE WOODLAND

Snuggle up to savor the familiar and the fantastical.

As day dawns, a mother griffin sends out her pride to protect the Woodland. “ ‘Guard,’ said the mother. / ‘We will guard every home.’ / So her young griffins flew / where the mythic creatures roam.” Each verse introduces a new mythological creature family such that, in the familiar “Over in the Meadow” format, young readers rhyme and count their way through the day. One young phoenix rises with its father: “So they rose from the ashes / in the glimmer of the sun”; a few pages later, readers learn that “in a lush, leafy heaven, / Lived a spry mother fairy and her little fairies seven.” At the end of the day, the mother griffin calls her brood home. “ ‘Safe?’ asked the mother. ‘All safe,’ said the ten. / So they settled for the night in the quiet of their den.” Midday scenes are brighter than those at either end of the day, but most of the illustrations in this mythological woodland are mistily ethereal. Young listeners can count the offspring in each new family and search for the young griffin that hides in plain sight on each spread. A glossary includes a paragraph about each of the 10 mythological creatures. A map of the Woodland is presented on the endpapers.

An enchanting one-on-one introduction for mythology fans and fans-to-be.