Swirl by Swirl uses bold, detailed illustrations and simple, poetic text to show us a variety of swirls and spirals in nature, and some of the places they are found. From ferns and flower petals to octopus arms and waves, this pattern shows up over and over again, and different descriptive and action words accompany it on each page.

This would make a great introduction (or follow-up) to Blockhead: The Life of Fibonacci (see our review here), which covers this topic with more of a focus on the math, as well as on Fibonacci himself.

This book does bring up Fibonacci in the informational page at the end, but overall it focuses more on the beauty, ubiquity, and different forms of the spiral pattern rather than the math behind it (not to imply that these things are mutually exclusive).

Scrounged From: Our local library

Format: Hardcover
Author: Joyce Sidman
Illustrator: Beth Krommes
Pages: 40
Content Advisory: None

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Shelter is a gentle fable (originally published in French) that contains beautiful and absorbing artwork, full of earth tones and winter blues. In a forest neighborhood, a storm is coming. The animals get ready, but when a pair of strangers show up asking for shelter from the cold, they receive very mixed reactions -- but as the storm worsens, one family finds themselves needing shelter too. 

Different people will probably take different messages from this story (some reviewers see a possible "climate change" statement here since the visitors are polar bears), but for me the takeaway is that the best way to receive is through giving, and that compassion can breed more compassion. 

I thought the story was well told. Sometimes, the more important the message, the easier it can be for storytellers to communicate in heavy-handed ways, but I believe that was mostly avoided here, because the story can stand on its own. I assume the heart of this story is related to the current global refugee crisis, and if that's the case then this is a timely story indeed.

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Celine Claire
Illustrator: Qin Leng
Pages: 42
Content Advisory: None

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The Elephant Keeper is a very thorough picture book with beautiful illustrations of Zambian landscapes, people, and of course elephants. This book is based on a true story about a boy named Aaron who finds an orphaned elephant struggling for its life in the pool of his workplace one morning. After rescuing it, he becomes invested in what happens to it, but also has to wrestle with his own fears as he has been taught that elephants are very dangerous creatures.

This book constructs a detailed narrative that follows Aaron to an elephant orphanage where he continues to observe and care for baby Zambezi (named after the river). The story is interspersed with occasional informational sections with photos and facts about elephants and their environments, as well as the organizations and systems in place to help orphaned elephants. 

There is a lot of information here, and this is an element of conservation I did not know much about, so I appreciate the opportunity to read this story and especially to get a glimpse into the daily lives of these "elephant keepers."

(Thanks to NetGalley for the review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author: Margriet Ruurs
Illustrator: Pedro Covo
Pages: 48
Content Advisory: An injured elephant that comes to the orphanage dies, but the subject is handled gently.

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This classic has been on my bookshelves for as long as I can remember, and is not only a wonderful children's story but a celebration of one aspect of the wild beauty of my home state of Maine. While Blueberries for Sal never comes out and gives a location (aside from "Blueberry Hill"), it's not difficult to imagine that this story is based in Maine (like several of McCloskey's others), given that Maine is pretty much the world capital for wild blueberries (one of the few fruit crops that's native to North America).

When I came back to this book as an adult, I could remember the gist of the narrative -- how Sal and a baby bear get mixed up, with each following the other's mother (as both mothers are quite focused on their task of finding blueberries for the winter). But what I find most endearing about this book is the way McCloskey's illustrations so perfectly capture the mannerisms of a toddler. Sal is capable of great focus on picking, but also an inability to keep more than three blueberries in her pail without eating them. Whether it's the facial expressions or the overall strap that's perpetually falling off her shoulder, Sal is the epitome of a cute and curious toddler who is satisfied by simple things.

I used this book with my son in pre-k for "B week." After reading it, we ate blueberries and "brown bears" (chocolate teddy grahams) for snack. 

Scrounged From: A gift for our child

Format: Hardcover
Author/Illustrator: Robert McCloskey
Pages: 56
Content Advisory: None

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Letters to a Prisoner is a wordless picture book that communicates quite a bit through a story of a man who is arrested for peaceful protest, and is encouraged (and eventually freed) with the aid of letters written by people around the world. 

The story is understandably simplified, with the opposing political factions in the beginning simply denoted by different-colored shapes. Letters become symbolic of flight and freedom all through the story, and a lovely fantastical image helps to illuminate this idea even more at the end.

A note at the end explains that this story is meant to illustrate what can happen (and has) during Amnesty International's Write for Rights events. I had never heard of this before, so I went and looked into it more after finishing the story. 

I definitely felt inspired after reading this, though it also serves as a reminder that not everyone in the world has the same rights that many of us enjoy. I probably would not read this to a preschooler (the images show people being hit and the man being separated from his young child in a fight, which might be upsetting for young children), but it's easy enough for an adult reader to preview for age-appropriateness. 

(Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.)

Scrounged From: NetGalley

Format: Kindle
Author/Illustrator: Jacques Goldstyn
Pages: 48
Content Advisory: See final paragraph above.

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