“This is the air that circles the world that we want. This is the rain forest that filters the air that circles the world that we want.” Kim Michelle Toft’s cumulative narrative describes the interconnectedness of living things in the natural world. A river weaves through the rain forest, a mangrove follows the river, a beach meets the mangrove, and so on, each one contributing to the overall health and well-being of the others and our planet as a whole. Toft’s stunning illustrations were hand-painted on silk. She uses shining gold and deep, vibrant colors to create lush, idyllic scenes of nature’s beauty and bounty, including a sweeping spread spanning four pages in a fold-out. A section following the narrative identifies and defines elements discussed and pictured. (Ages 5–10)

Lyrical text and striking illustrations weave together the air, rain forest, mangrove, beach, tide pool, reef, atoll, and ocean to show how these habitats are all interconnected. An in-depth look at these environments and the animals that live in them is offered along with notes about dangers that threaten their survival.