GREEN ON GREEN

A celebration of colors through a full cycle of the seasons.

This rhyming, lyrical story opens with a blue-eyed, dark-skinned mother and child enjoying the yellow flowers in a grassy green meadow with the father riding horseback nearby and a lighthouse on the coast in the background. The text accompanying each seasonal sequence includes a refrain that focuses on the colors: “yellow on green” for springtime. The rhythmic text practically sings of the shifting seasons, as spring turns to summer, summer to fall, and so on, while the matte illustrations reveal the child’s curiosity, the family’s bonds, and the mother’s growing roundness as they all prepare for the birth of a baby. A summer trip to the beach brings “turquoise, teal, and blue on green”; “toasty and warm” “cinnamon, almond, and brown on green” abound in fall; winter comes with “gray and taupe and white on green”; and spring sees the addition of a new family member. Since every season includes green, it remains a touchpoint and a refrain throughout. Insects and animals, including the family dog, show up on most pages, giving detail-oriented readers lots to explore. Sala’s intentional inclusion of diversity in this rural community, as folks gather for activities and events, offers mirrors for many kinds of readers and emphasizes the richness of cross-cultural sharing.

A beautifully illustrated, peaceful song of family, community, and new birth. (Picture book. 3-7)