In the Thick of It! In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes

WHEN THE LEAVES ARE ALREADY TURNING, AND THE SKY IS MOSTLY GRAY...

The first bright leaves have fallen, and the rest seem to be huddling together against the chill wind, clinging to their twigs and trying not to look down at the garden, already sodden and brown.

What's going on?

It's mid-autumn. The pumpkin patch is ready for picking. The sunflowers are downcast, shedding their seeds. At least the birds are happy!

SOON THE SKY WILL BE WHITE.

There's a time in the turning of the seasons when everyone knows it's time to turn the page on this year.... Except... could that be a snowflake? Or two, or a few....

In a companion book to his When Spring Comes, Kevin Henkes' In the Middle of Fall (Greenwillow Press, 2017) catches the seasons at the cusp, a sort of tenuous moment in the year that all creation recognizes.

In the midst of advancing winter, Henkes' illustrator (and wife), Laura Dronzek takes the best and brightest side of fall--apple and pumpkin picking, squirrels busy stuffing acorns into the hollow of a tree, and the bright carpet of leaves which, to the canny reader, actually forecasts a covering of pretty white snowflakes. There's a sort of nostalgia for summer as nature unleaves itself, but perhaps a promise of something good to watch and wait for, too, in Henkes' and Dronzek's new book. Nature knows what it's doing, as summer's bounty feeds the earth and its creatures to prepare for new life to come. "If winter comes, can spring be far behind?" For those preschool and primary studies of the season, this one offers lyrical text and jewel-like illustrations. Says Booklist in its starred review, "Masterfully conceived and executed, this perfectly captures the sights and feelings many children experience during the transition from fall to winter."

For a perfect autumn pairing, share this one with Michael Hall's wonderful Wonderfall (see review here).