Whirl

This wordless picture book opens in an urban park with increasingly up-close scenes of a maple tree and its seeds as wind causes one of the seeds to detach and float away. Softly colored, childlike illustrations set a gentle tone for the seed's quiet journey. First making its way across the yard of two light-skinned children and their mothers (one of whom is pregnant), the seed whirls back into the park amidst active walkers, skateboarders, and wheelchair athletes. Brown-skinned children find it and other maple seeds and turn them into funny eyebrows, mustaches, and fangs. But once the kids are on the go again, so is the seed, which is picked up by a flora-collecting girl and nest-building birds until, finally, a dog pushes the seed into the ground. The illustrations transition to lovely wildlife scenes through fall, winter, and spring, with a culminating spread featuring a maple sapling and the original family, this time with one of the moms carrying a baby. Concluding maple-seed facts round out this charming look at seeds and life cycles.

PreS-Gr 3--A wordless title that celebrates the samara, the seed of a maple tree. The back matter informs readers that the design of the seed's wing is not just for the delight of children who love to see them fly so perfectly in the air, but that they are in fact aerodynamic wonders of nature. A single maple seed's journey from falling off a tree one year to sapling the next invites readers to follow the seed as it interacts with a diverse cast of human and animal characters. The multi-paneled illustrations are varied and include broad views and tight close-ups encouraging readers to scrutinize each step and marvel at the seed's gift for spinning through the world. VERDICT Perfect for encouraging engagement, and appreciation, for the wonders of the natural world; if there are maple trees nearby all the better to inspire a hands-on connection that will send readers whirling outdoors --John Scott