I Found Hope in a Cherry Tree

July 1, 2020
A child and a cat experience solace, joy, and wonder while exploring the natural world. Starting inside a country house and then venturing out into a snowy landscape, a child with straight, black hair and pale skin and a playful cat observe and reflect upon the simple, ever evolving pleasures of the natural world. Eyes can behold mischievous shadows created by the sun, ears can hear the stories carried in the wind, tongues can taste soft, sweet clouds, and best of all, there's the hopeful promise of spring in the buds on the shivering cherry-tree branches. Each of the four parts of the poetic, first-person narrative is a bite-sized reminder that even scary or dismal things, like wind that howls like wolves or icy, sharp snowflakes, contain hope and joy. Visual and textual motifs are woven throughout, building to the reassuring and gratifying conclusion featuring the child and cat amid a shower of cherry blossoms. There's comfort in steady, sure things, like the constant presence of the sun and the cyclical nature of the seasons. Textured canvases overlaid with soft pastels and cool earth tones create a dreamy, tranquil atmosphere, mirroring the quiet wonder of the text. Compositions are grounded by expertly placed shapes and lines, moving the eye through the scene in a peaceful, steady manner. (This book was reviewed digitally with 8.9-by-21.2-inch double-page spreads viewed at 15.4% of actual size.) An ode to solitude and nature, this picture book provides comforting certitude in current times of uncertainty. (Picture book. 3-9)

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August 1, 2020

PreS-Gr 2-A little girl exploring her world notices her shadow for the first time and finds it marvelous. It can be in front of her, on her side, or following behind. It even follows her outside into the snowy day. There, her attention turns to the wind; she hears it whispering through the trees and creating sounds all around her that make her think of stories. She imagines hungry wolves all around, but remembers that wolves like stories and happily calms them with a tale. She tastes the snowflakes that carry the flavor of clouds and feels their icy touch as they prickle her cheeks. Then she notices that the cherry tree, deep in the snowy landscape, has buds on it. Shadows and the wind are always there and so are the buds of a cherry tree.The beautiful illustrations are rendered primarily in earth tones with eye-pleasing textures added. Yet, in the middle there is a puzzling Red Riding Hood element with wolves, darker art, and the story line about stories calming agitated wolves. VERDICT Despite a disjointed path-from the sensory exploration to the meditation on wolves-this additional purchase may encourage little ones to let their imaginations run wild while encountering the world.-Joan Kindig, James Madison Univ., Harrisonburg, VA

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

July 1, 2020
Pendziwol's quiet, first-person text references the natural world to express a wide range of emotions -- hope, yes, and also loss, fear, bravery, and sadness. More mood piece than story, the text throughout creates a contemplative space for savoring lyrical language and reflecting on painterly, softly textured, striking art. The pictures' style is representative, yet eminently expressive, and readers will find much to explore within them as they shift between distant and close-up perspectives and interior and exterior settings. When the book opens, a cat (never mentioned in the text) accompanies the solitary child narrator from spread to spread as she plays indoors with her shadow ("sometimes / it disappears... / But it always comes back"). The scenes move to wintry outdoor settings, with the child making poetic observations: "I can hear the wind tell stories, / whispering / to the trees, / making them / laugh / and / sigh." Sometimes "the stories / howl / like wolves," threatening the tranquility, but the girl (now shown in a Red Riding Hood-like cloak) uses her own storytelling ability to keep the wolves at bay. Herein lies hope, as surely as it can be found in the titular cherry tree and the close companionship of a friendly cat.

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

September 1, 2020
Pendziwol's quiet, first-person text references the natural world to express a wide range of emotions -- hope, yes, and also loss, fear, bravery, and sadness. More mood piece than story, the text throughout creates a contemplative space for savoring lyrical language and reflecting on painterly, softly textured, striking art. The pictures' style is representative, yet eminently expressive, and readers will find much to explore within them as they shift between distant and close-up perspectives and interior and exterior settings. When the book opens, a cat (never mentioned in the text) accompanies the solitary child narrator from spread to spread as she plays indoors with her shadow ("sometimes / it disappears... / But it always comes back"). The scenes move to wintry outdoor settings, with the child making poetic observations: "I can hear the wind tell stories, / whispering / to the trees, / making them / laugh / and / sigh." Sometimes "the stories / howl / like wolves," threatening the tranquility, but the girl (now shown in a Red Riding Hood-like cloak) uses her own storytelling ability to keep the wolves at bay. Herein lies hope, as surely as it can be found in the titular cherry tree and the close companionship of a friendly cat. Megan Dowd Lambert

(Copyright 2020 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)