In this lovely book about the intertwining harmonies of nature and family life, a child talks about the different activities that start—and end—in each season for her, her sister, and her moms. “Spring is… the last time we hear ‘Snow day! on the news, the last time we see the plow truck roar down the road,” but it is also the time of the first new grass and the first picnic in the park. On we go through each season, with lush collage illustrations by Clover Robin bringing Leda Schubert’s words to vivid life. Most of the scenes are outdoors, but a few are in the cozy warmth of home.
This is not just a book about the seasons, but about what we welcome and say goodbye to in each one. It is about cycles, rhythms, transitions, and finding the new even as we bid farewell to the old.
My only quibble is that only one mom is called by parental name (“Mom”), while the other is simply part of the collective familial “we” that the narrator uses. The other mom, who appears young, could easily be mistaken for an older sister. A rainbow sticker on their car and an e-mail exchange I had with the publisher confirm that this is a two-mom tale—I don’t believe the author or publisher is trying to hide the fact—but a little more clarity in the execution would have been appreciated, even as I am deeply grateful that the book doesn’t make any kind of big deal about it being a two-mom family. One other reason naming both moms is important: In many two-mom families, a nongenetic and/or nongestational mom may sometimes feel that others do not take her seriously as a mom. The book doesn’t indicate whether one (or both) moms are nongenetic/nongestational, but naming both moms in a two-mom family as moms (or as “Mom” and “Mama” or whatever other parental names they may use), in acknowledgment that both are parents, just feels like good practice to me.
That point doesn’t take away from my recommending this book, though, a lyrical and beautiful read that would be soothing at bedtime (or any hour, really) for families of many types. I could see it becoming a regular read on solstices and equinoxes as well as days in between. That it just happens to feature a two-mom family is a delightful bonus.
All of the characters appear White.
