Feel the Fog
by April Pulley Sayre; photos by the author
Preschool, Primary    Beach Lane/Simon    40 pp.    g
9/20    978-1-5344-3760-9    $17.99
e-book ed.  978-1-5344-3761-6    $10.99

Immersive photographs (most taken by the author) pull viewers into the experience of a foggy day in Sayre’s latest weather-focused title (Raindrops Roll and others). The large-format pictures invite viewers to explore how weather interacts with animals, plants, and natural landscapes. Sayre’s fog obscures and reveals, with many monochromatic white and gray pages showing just how much the fog can transform outdoor objects and creatures (a yellow bird, for example) and inviting viewers to lean in closely to see what they’re looking at and what may be hidden. But while the pictures steal the show, Sayre’s poetic language creates a mood and a rhythm while leaving plenty of room for listeners to feel like they are making their own discoveries. A back-matter spread succinctly answers many of the questions that children may ask while reading, such as, “Why does fog feel cold?” The book ends by telling readers that fog “limits what you can see, but it can expand what you imagine” — the latter of which could easily describe Sayre’s book.

From the September/October 2020 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.