In the Woods
(Paws, Fins, Feathers, Claws)

Dunlavey's watercolors capture the lush hues of the seasons--there's often a touch of red--and invite repeat viewings. He mimics the energy of the text in his portraits of the title animals, blending other inhabitants of the forest into the background. A double-page spread of back matter provides additional facts. There's a lot going on in these woods, and author and illustrator together manage to honor them in a truly spectacular way.
--Booklist (starred review)

Dunlavey's expressively atmospheric double-page paintings play with light effects, a scarlet tanager flashing through the dappled green and a porcupine that's just shuffled out of the beams of an oncoming truck. In addition to the pithy lyric portraits, Elliott provides intriguing facts about each animal in the backmatter, such as the "beaver's teeth are constantly growing," allowing inquisitive listeners to connect with these creatures in a variety of ways. An irresistible invitation to get out of the house and into the woods.
--Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The compositions are focused and compelling--the viewer knows exactly where to look on every spread. It's worth lingering to find details of interest...An ideal marriage of poetry and art; another successful entry in a long-running and (seemingly) perennially renewable series.
--The Horn Book (starred review)

With wispy washes of layered watercolor and mixed media twining expressionistic feeling and key details, Dunleavy conjures a forest world to frame Elliott's engaging poems about woodland creatures. A bear peeks out of a dim cave: "The shadow stirs/ in its musky den." A bright smear perches on a branch: "Look! There!/ A flash of red/ in the spring/ green of the trees/ ...the scarlet/ tanager has returned." Elliott's clear language works to capture essential details--the tanager's color, a skunk's smell, a porcupine's prickles--veering in tone from wondering sincerity to subtle humor (moose get a two-word description: "Ungainly, / mainly"). Fifteen creatures are featured, each on a full spread. Concise notes at the end offer facts that build on each poem; for example, of the tanager: "These spectacular creatures are famous for being hard to spot, as they love to be high up in the forest canopy." Pleasant and gently funny. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

PreS-Gr 2--Journey into the woods with Elliott's picturesque poems paired with Dunlavey's lavishly illustrated forest animals. Author and illustrator collaborate to create a gorgeous homage to the animals of the forest as they cycle through the seasons. The book opens with a bear waking from its slumber and then follows a fox, a scarlet tanager, skunks, a fisher cat, a moose, and other animals as they go through their days. Some poems are very short. Some rhyme, a few have rhythm, and some are free verse--all are filled with figurative language that brings the creatures to life. These poems are complemented by Elliott's watercolor renderings which incorporate greens, browns, and grays. Yet all scenes clearly represent the change of seasons in the forest. One animal is spotlighted on each spread. This book gently introduces some scientific vocabulary and is a good starting point for discussions about learning new words. All of the animals have short profiles on the final pages offering fun facts that may not be common knowledge (for example, fisher cats are the only North American animal that eat porcupines). VERDICT Highly recommended for elementary libraries and elementary science and language arts classrooms.--Lia Carruthers, Gill St. Bernard's School, Gladstone, NJ

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.