A Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
Winner, Robin Smith Picture Book Prize
A Bank Street Best Book of the Year
An Amazon Best Book of the Year So Far
A Good Housekeeping Kids' Book Award Winner
A Kirkus Reviews Best Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library Best Book of the Year
A School Library Journal Best Book of the Year
An ALA Notable Book for Children
A Common Sense Selection
"Drawn, shaded, and occasionally crosshatched ... and tinted with watercolors in yellow, tan, brown, rose, and pale blue hues, the beautifully composed illustrations give this picture book a handcrafted look that suits the timeless story." —Booklist, starred review
"The interior pages start out looking like a chapter book, but the text is broken with exciting spreads, graphic novel–style layouts, and playfully illustrated text. These design decisions make this book feel new and familiar—a classic readers will be talking about in the future." —School Library Journal, starred review
"The contrast between Evergreen’s own self-doubt and the way she shines under pressure is conveyed with humor and skill in this adventuresome allegory about confronting the world outside as well as one’s own very real fears." —Publishers Weekly, starred review
"A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time." —Kirkus, starred review
"Destined to be a classic. The most beloved new picture book in our 2023 Good Housekeeping Best Book Awards...is about a squirrel delivering soup to her sick grandma. The brave yet scared squirrel traverses Buckthorn Forest, showing readers that helping others is worth conquering their fears.
—Good Housekeeping
"The varied page layouts convey both the coziness of Evergreen’s world and the tension of life as part of the woodland food chain." —The Horn Book
"Cordell’s world building is immensely satisfying, and Evergreen is packed with entertaining textual and visual details." —BookPage
"This endearing story reminds us that great things can be accomplished, even in the face of fear."--Common Sense Media
The musicality of Helen Day's voice combined with her British accent provides an enticing entry into Buckthorn Forest, where a squirrel named Evergreen is afraid of pretty much everything, and her mama makes soup magical enough to be a cure for the sick. Mama tells Evergreen she must take soup to sick Granny Oak. Her firm and comforting voice is a marked contrast to the quavery Evergreen's, an aural cue that transmits her state of mind as she sets off on her journey. Day excels in conveying Evergreen's growth on her journey as she overcomes dangers and obstacles, whether dealing with scary noises or creatures who try to steal Granny Oak's soup, and even begins to have some fun. E.J.F. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine
★ 2022-10-26
Soup is always the correct solution.
Evergreen, a young squirrel who lives high in a tree in Buckthorn Forest, is afraid of most things, but top of the list is thunderstorms. When her mother, who makes magical soup, asks her to take an acorn full of soup to Granny Oak, who is ill with the flu, Evergreen is afraid that she won’t be brave enough to do it. But she knows she must—and that she must be careful not to spill a drop, as “Granny Oak will need every bit of it to get better.” Setting off, the scared squirrel encounters a menagerie of adventures and forest creatures in her journey. It’s a wild, imaginative read and one that twists and turns like a forest path, with unexpected surprises along the way. Cordell is a masterful storyteller, and readers will love following Evergreen’s journey as she grows into a more confident squirrel. The artwork is the real star of the show, however; there’s a hint of Sendak in the characters’ humorous expressions and in the timeless pen-and-watercolor backgrounds that cry out to be examined in detail. Educators and caregivers will love reading this story aloud in installments, and readers will adore seeing what Evergreen encounters in her travels. A hint of future stories will tantalize readers, who will close the book eager for a new volume to devour.
A spellbinding tale that will never brown or fade with time. (Early chapter book. 6-8)
