Review by Booklist Review
In this first title of the Sensing Your World series, Verde urges readers to go beyond cursory glances to fully see and experience the world around them. A young child hops off a scooter to observe a tree and discovers a teeming landscape of birds, insects, and flowers. Later, the observant protagonist sits on the steps of their city brownstone and discerns beauty in neighborhood people and their activities. Looking up at the sky reveals the magic of nature, and paying attention to friends yields evidence of kindness and inclusion. Finally, contemplation of family and self brings into focus contentment, love, and self-awareness. Perdomo's digital art employs a sunny palette that reflects the joyful tone of the text. Using representational shapes, eye-popping colors, and myriad textures, she invites extended viewing, particularly on the pages where the text asks, "Can you see?" Although the true message of the book (described in the author's note) is one of mindfulness rather than strict observation, this will be welcomed by anyone curious to see the world with fresh eyes.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
What's the difference between regarding something and truly seeing it? In this first in a new sense-based series, Verde (the I Am series) answers this question via accessible examples that also introduce mindfulness techniques. Out and about on a spring day, a young narrator, portrayed by Perdomo (El Cucuy Is Scared, Too!) with dark brown skin, explains that while "looking shows me/ what is right in front of my eyes," slowing down to "notice/ with patience and curiosity... shows me more." In a series of vignettes, the child first looks at a familiar visual (a tree, a city block), then delves into deeper perceptions. At first glance, for example, the sky is home to the sun, clouds, and a passing bird. But further inspection reveals it as "magic": "An invitation to stay in or go out,/ rest or play." Crisp, folk art--flavored digital illustrations skillfully move between observations straightforward and beyond, featuring a cast of various abilities, ages, and skin tones. Bold colors and kinetic swirls of images help covey a sense of wonder in the everyday, emphasizing the book's parting message: "Seeing is the feeling in our bellies/ when we realize the world is full of miracles." An author's note concludes. Ages 4--8. Agent (for author and illustrator): Erica Rand Silverman, Stimola Literary. (Apr.)
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
Warm guidance on the difference between looking and seeing. Verde is well established as a writer skilled at introducing concepts of mindfulness to young readers, with titles such as those in the I Am series, illustrated by Peter H. Reynolds, to her credit. With this latest offering, she collaborates with illustrator Perdomo to invite children to "slow down-- / find stillness, and notice / with patience and curiosity." First-person narration delivers this invitation in the voice of a child who presents Black. The young narrator first distinguishes between looking at a tree and truly seeing the life it experiences and sustains--"Signs of change and letting go, / flowering and feeding, / shading and sheltering. / A place to call home." The narrator then directly asks readers what they see in the accompanying, brightly colored illustration of flora and fauna alike in an up-close image of the tree's branches. The following pages continue in this manner, helping readers "see" both tangible and intangible qualities of the world they inhabit, with illustrations echoing illustrator Karen Katz's style and expanding on the text to prompt careful examination. While the book is engaging, some may notice a missed opportunity for inclusion of visually impaired people, who, while unable to literally look at the world, can surely perceive a great deal in other ways. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Much good to see here. (Picture book. 3-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
