I AM THE MOUNTAIN

Gorgeous watercolors evoke sensations and seasons in this celebration of nature’s wonders.

“I am rocks. I am old. I am wise. I am dirt.” Despite these words, this mountain-turned-narrator isn’t interested in discussing its past or the science behind its creation. Setting everything in the immediate here and now, its book is split into four sections, a season apiece. Each season is then associated with a particular sense. We feel winter’s chill, smell the thaw of the ground in spring, hear a summer deer making its way across the mountain’s meadow, and taste ripe autumnal apples. This mountain has a knack for a poetic turn of phrase, conveyed through Weinberg’s immersive prose: “The sun hides behind me. The howling wind rushes off my slope.” Weinberg’s lush illustrations vary from thick clumps of floral colors to all-engulfing washes of misty gray. Text is placed at the bottom of the page, occasionally set against light bands of color. Thirty-eight mini paintings of the Catskill Mountains, where Weinberg makes his home, accompany an author’s note that expresses amazement at how a single place can look different every day. Young readers (and, by extension, their teachers) are encouraged to experiment with celebrating the same thing that they love over and over in their own way—they’ll eagerly follow suit, spurred by the lovely example that Weinberg has set.

A stunning achievement, inducing justified awe.