Into the Forest

by Laura Baker, Nadia Taylor (Illustrator)

Overview

Hopping and stopping, Squirrel sees deer!
But not her mama. She isn’t here.

Through a simple narrative about a squirrel looking for her family, Into the Forest introduces different animal families as they go about their daily lives. With a gentle rhyming text and beautiful illustrations, Into the Forest’s die-cut pages and embossing make this the perfect tactile package for little hands.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781419733543
Publisher:	Abrams Appleseed
Publication date:	10/30/2018
Pages:	10
Product dimensions:	8.10(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Laura Baker grew up in Canada with a passion for stories. She now lives in a lovely coastal town in South Wales with her husband, her son, and a big basset hound. Nadia Taylor is a designer and printmaker based in London. Her colorful prints are filled with bold shapes and striking patterns. She has worked on large-scale hand-painted murals, book covers, greeting cards, gift wrap, and packaging.

Editorial Reviews

11/05/2018
A squirrel has been separated from her family and goes searching; along the way, she meets other woodland creatures. Layered, wavy-shaped flaps reveal a forest scene with flat geometric shapes and rustic shades of orange, brown, blue, and green. Animal surprises appear on every page: foxes, squirrels, a cub and mother bear, rabbits, and deer. Frogs, birds, and butterflies also peek out from lily pads and leaves. Baker writes in simple, rhyming verse: “Watching rabbits/ hide and seek,/ Squirrel joins in to/ peer and peek.” The layering gives readers a sense of heading deeper into a forest grove, while the bumpy textures in the Popsicle-shaped trees provide an appealing hands-on experience. Ages 3–5. (Oct.)

Publishers Weekly

2018-11-21

A sweet introduction to some of the animals that inhabit a North American forest.

As a squirrel searches for its mama it encounters a few other animal families along the way. Some are named, such as foxes, bears, deer, and rabbits, and some are not, such as frogs, birds, and butterflies. Squirrel's search is described in rhyming text—"Hopping and stopping, / Squirrel sees deer! / But not her Mama— / she isn't here." There are plenty of rich vocabulary-building verbs, such as "scurries," "darts," "scampers," "peer," and "peek." But the real joy in this board book is in the design and illustrations. Young readers will love the layered and shaped die-cut pages that reveal a different group of animals on each spread. The illustrations are bold and bright, employing a palette of mostly green, brown, orange, and blue. Exploring little hands will delight in passing their fingers over the raised designs found on every page as well as the smoothness of Squirrel's spot gloss. And Squirrel's quest? "Finally, who does Squirrel see? / It's Mama and her family! / Now Squirrel is right where she should be— / napping in her favorite tree."

A book toddlers will enjoy reading with an adult but also on their own. (Board book. 1-4)

Kirkus Reviews