The Road Home

January 16, 2017
Sober, dark, and elegant, Cotton’s poetry imagines the voices of forest parents speaking to their young as they prepare for winter. Newcomer Jacoby contributes luminous watercolors that view the wild landscape through the animals’ eyes: tiny nests, tree branches, and intricate tangles of vines and weeds. Cotton (Counting Lions) concentrates on the struggle to survive and stay fed, and on the words of truth and reassurance old share with young. “Our wings are sore,/ There’s far to go/ before our flight is flown,” says a migrating songbird to its offspring as they wing across a great river, a ray of sunlight illuminating the trees below. “This road is hard, this road is long,/ this road that leads us home,” the animals repeat. A mother mouse builds a nest with her baby, wolves stalk prey (“We’ve claws to grip and jaws to bite”), and rabbits escape them and take refuge under mounds of snow: “Let’s curl up close, lost in leaves,/ lost in velvet sleep,” the mother rabbit murmurs. Cotton and Jacoby bring wild lives close, observing them with intimacy and giving them dignity. Ages 5–7. Illustrator’s agent: Steven Malk, Writers House.

Starred review from January 1, 2017
The struggle to survive and find a home in nature is told in verse. For those who don't appreciate children's books that sugarcoat the harsh truths of survival in the wild, there's this spare and beautiful book in which a bird, a rabbit, a mouse, and a wolf travel with their respective offspring, trying to find a home, sometimes while outrunning death. With the refrain, "This road is hard, this road is long, / this road that leads us home," it's critter tales as if told by Cormac McCarthy. But rather than seeming scary or unsettling, the effect feels truthful and significant. Any child will understand that the stakes are high for the rabbits on the run ("For Wolf is near. His name is Fear. / He wants us for his own"), but the resolution is lovely and comforting. "This road is hard, this road is long, / but we are not alone. / For you are here, and I'm with you... // and so this road is home." The highly textured illustrations keep a respectful distance, allowing a glimpse of these creatures without losing the scale of the world they're up against; the backgrounds are moody and at times foreboding, but the last two spreads, in which the journeys of all the sets of animals come together, are breathtaking. These nameless animals make the journey count. With gorgeous artwork and a striking, poetic approach, the bond of parent and child is successfully conveyed. (Picture book. 4-8)

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February 1, 2017

PreS-Gr 1-Cotton's rhythmic poem, in rhyming quatrains, features four mother/child pairs-each seeking shelter from the approaching harshness of winter. Mother bird prepares her chick for the tiring flight south ("where sun still warms the ground."). Mother field mouse and her baby gather straw and leaves to make a winter nest. Mother wolf and her cub hunt for prey to satisfy their hunger, and mother rabbit leads her bunny to nighttime safety in a snow-covered mound, warning him to beware of the wolf who stalks them. Each two-stanza poem begins with a similar phrase ("Fly with me"; "Build with me") and ends with the refrain, "This road is hard, this road is long, /this road that leads us home"-in the end offering comfort ("You are here, and I'm with you/...and so this road is home."). There is a lot to search for in the soft watercolor paintings, where the birds fly over a river toward the fading sun, the mice build their nest amid the last wildflowers of fall, the wolves chase rabbits through a forest of falling leaves, and the inky night, illuminated by a full autumn moon and a profusion of stars, fades into a rosy dawn sky, highlighting green grass and trees, coaxing mothers and their young from their cozy hideaways. Each gentle rhyme carries a mother's warning to her child of what's to come and her assurance of the security of home.

Copyright 2017 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from January 1, 2017
Preschool-G *Starred Review* In the fall, a bird encourages its young as they begin a long flight to a warmer place. A field mouse cajoles its little one to help it build a cozy nest. Hunt with me, a wolf tells its pup, and off they go, seeking prey in the snowy landscape. A rabbit urges its kit to flee, saying, For Wolf is near. / His name is Fear. / He wants us for his own. / This road is hard, this road is long, / this road that leads us home. A version of the last two lines appears in each section of Cotton's poetic text, which is unusual for a picture book in that it conveys a keen awareness of danger as well as the security of home. Throughout the book, the illustrations subtly indicate the seasonal changes from autumn to winter to spring. Jacoby uses watercolors and digital media to create the beautifully composed double-page scenes as well as the more intimate vignettes. Attention to detail makes this a particularly lovely volume, beginning with its printed paper cover, shiny copper-colored title, and dark red cloth-covered spine. First published in Britain, this picture book explores a familiar theme in a fresh, original way.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)