Poems describe what a girl wonders about the things she notices on walks through the woods across the year. In early spring she reads "Forest News" in the snowy footprints of various animals. Spring also reveals the story of a "Fossil," reverberates with a tree frog's "Proposal," and imagines the life of a "Lady Slipper": "Were you at the Forest Ball? / Were you having fun? When the clock struck midnight / did you have to run?" Summer is a "Spider" and thoughts of baby animals at "Dusk." In autumn, there are the secrets of a "Squirrel" storing food, and the "Song" of geese on the wing. Winter brings "Snowflake Voices" and a "Farewell." These and other poems of observation and playful contemplation are set against lovely, delicate illustrations. (Ages 5-9)

A spider is a “never-tangling dangling spinner / knitting angles, trapping dinner.” A tree frog proposes, “Marry me. Please marry me… / Pick me now. / Make me your choice. / I’m one great frog / with one strong voice.” VanDerwater lets the denizens of the forest speak for themselves in twenty-six lighthearted, easy-to-read poems. As she observes, “Silence in Forest / never lasts long. / Melody / is everywhere / mixing in / with piney air. / Forest has a song.” The graceful, appealing watercolor illustrations perfectly suit these charming poems that invite young readers into the woodland world at every season.