Bringing the Outside In

November 30, 2015
Four children make the most of the seasons in this exuberant appreciation of nature and sharing good times. Dashing outdoors after a spring rain shower, the children enjoy “Worms in our clutches,/ Wind in our hair,/ Boots full of puddle,/ Mud everywhere!” Their explorations end with “bringing the outside in” (mud and puddles, mainly), and everyone helps tidy up. Similarly, autumn finds the kids picking apples, jumping in leaves, and collecting acorns, then sweeping up stray leaves once everyone is back inside. The children are of varying ethnicities but appear to live together under the care of a kindly mother figure—it’s easy to envision this group as a happy adoptive family. By year’s end, they have filled a box with photos, drawings, and treasured souvenirs. In energetic rhymes and tenderly detailed illustrations, Siddals (Shades of Halloween) and Barton (Uh-Oh!) capture the kinetic motion of this quartet of kids as they run, leap, fly kites, and make snow angels, their faces brimming with joy. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Chris Tugeau, Christina A. Tugeau Artist Agency.

Starred review from January 15, 2016
Four children of diverse ethnicity--and one small dog--cavort through the seasons, backgrounded by rhythmic verses and a simple refrain. "We're bringing the outside in, oh, / Bringing the outside in..." begins the book, with a double-page spread showing the children in raincoats, silhouetted against a sky in which the sun has begun to peek out. The pale-skinned girl with eyeglasses and pink raingear is deliberately splashing through a puddle, in nice contrast to her obviously feminine attire. On the next pages, she peers at a worm dangling from the fingers of her male, Asian-American friend (or, perhaps, younger sibling). "Worms in our clutches, / Wind in our hair, / Boots full of puddle, / Mud everywhere!" Finally comes the cleaning phase, in which the children work cooperatively and equally enthusiastically: "Bringing the outside in, then... / Wiping it off, / Mopping it up, / Dumping it out again." Although most of the gentle, mixed-media illustrations show girls in more passive pursuits than boys, all the children show delightful exuberance as they enjoy each season's outdoor offerings by playing, collecting treasures, recording memories, and cleaning up. Occasionally, a white adult woman shows up to help, but the focus is on the children. The text, art, and layout magically lure readers into believing that cooperation and cleaning are as natural and enjoyable as playing. A sweet book for any place with small children in it. (Picture book. 2-4)

COPYRIGHT(2016) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

March 1, 2016

PreS-Four diverse children joyfully celebrate the messy nature of outdoor play through the seasons. The same refrain frames each season, "We're bringing the outside in, oh, /Bringing the outside in..." and the little ones are shown delighting in the best that each season offers for outdoor play. On the page turn, they repeat that they're bringing the outside in, but then they have to clean up. For summer, the children enjoy the beach, then return indoors, "shaking it off, washing it up, drying it out again" as they hang suits, wash off sand, and pick up toys. After experiencing each of the four seasons, they chant, "We're keeping the outside in, oh, /Keeping the outside in..." and spend time looking at photographs and treasuring the memories of good fun. VERDICT A sweet addition to large collections.-Anna Haase Krueger, Ramsey County Library, MN

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.