SPRING IS FOR STRAWBERRIES

Join families in this town as they embrace the seasons and eat locally via their farmers market.

Lyrical verse with plenty of rhyme and alliteration guides readers through the year. While “winter is for waiting,” spring is for planting and sprouting and then shopping for “strawberries, / staining lips heart red,” sugar peas, and leafy greens at the farmers market. Spring is also for lemonade, and the lilac sunset behind an informal baseball practice radiates with the vibrancy of late spring and summer. Summer is for fruit that’s sweet and juicy enough to “slurp” down: “peppers, melons, corn on the cob, / a rainbow of tomatoes.” Fall brings cool winds, golden leaves, jack-o’-lanterns, and feasts along with apples, beets, and squash. Winter arrives again, with evergreen wreaths, snowflakes, a cupboard full of summer’s bounty, the dismantling of the farmers market, and a new round of waiting for springtime blooms. Throughout the year, illustrations with a palette reflecting the ripest produce show a growing friendship between two children, one of whom is Black-presenting, the other of whom is light-skinned. The community is racially diverse; a character is depicted using a wheelchair. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

A delightful blend of friendship, fresh food, melodious language, and luscious illustrations.