“I’m thinking of something that is . . . round like a ball.” Lisa Campbell Ernst’s captivating guessing game reveals a new clue on each page spread as the people in her story—and readers and listeners, too, of course!—offer ideas on what the answer to her riddle might be. As the possibilities narrow with each additional attribute (it’s round like a ball and . . . beautiful . . . always moving . . . has many colors . . . ), the excitement builds. Ernst’s bright illustrations incorporate a clever die-cut into the design. The round hole gets larger with each turn of the page, revealing more and more of the object she is describing in greater and greater detail. It’s not a pearl or a gumball machine, a berry or a rock. It is, in fact, the earth, which is shown in big, bold, beautiful color against a space-dark sky in a glorious four-page fold out that concludes this satisfying picture book featuring cardboard pages. (Ages 3–7)

Is it a meatball? A basketball? A pearl? As the round hole through the pages of this book grows larger, readers will come closer and closer to guessing the identity of the object that's round like a ball, hot and cold, every color, always moving, and home to us all. With a simple text and glorious collage artwork, Lisa Campbell Ernst offers a gentle tribute to our planet and a timely reminder that we all need to take care of it.