North Woods Girl

K-Gr 3—Bissonette’s debut picture book is narrated by a young girl who enjoys the north woods as much as her grandmother does. Every season brings something new to see and do. They listen to frogs by the pond in the spring. They share their tasty canned vegetables in the summer with the neighbors. In the fall, they gather colorful leaves, and in the winter they hike along one of the “hundred little paths in the woods behind Grandma’s house.” The scratchboard and watercolor artwork enhances the beauty of this heartwarming story about the love this little girl has for nature and her grandmother. The scenes are cozy because of how the starry skies, the wildlife, and the abundance of trees surround the main characters on every page. VERDICT This is a powerful intergenerational story about how a grandmother came to be a role model for her granddaughter.—Tanya Boudreau, Cold Lake Public Library, AB, Canada

“One of the prettiest and well-written books of the season is narrated by a girl who admires her grandmother for not looking like other grandmas: ‘She’s bony. And she dresses in Grandpa’s old flannel shirts.’ But Grandma knows the woods behind her house and where to observe animals and ducks.” Pioneer Press

“A celebration of both family and nature with exemplary illustrations.” Kirkus Reviews