A little girl repeatedly asks her parents when spring will come and each time they respond by telling her to use a different one of her five senses: when you hear the birds start to sing, when you feel the ground getting soft under your feet, when you see the snow start to melt, when you smell the earth and rain. Each answer leads Sophie to closely observe the natural world and notice the gradual changes as winter slowly loosens its grip. When the first rainstorm finally arrives, Sophie runs outside and catches a raindrop on her tongue. “Now I know spring is here … Because this is what spring tastes like!” The narrative has a patterned structure but feels expansive with the passage of time and the inclusion of the many details Sophie notices. Warm, inviting full-page and circular spot illustrations done digitally and with gouache show Sophie’s country home and the surrounding natural world in a folk-influenced style. (Ages 4-8)

From snowy days to gray skies, a little girl watches and waits and wonders, will spring ever come? And then one day…

Sophie listens and watches for the signs of spring. Day after day, the same snow is frozen outside her window and the skies above are as gray as the day before. And then Sophie thinks will spring ever come and how will I know it is here?