A Forest Mystery

Switzerland's Marcus Pfister, who wrote the US popular The Rainbow Fish, has an impressive portfolio that extends wide and diverse. He offers refreshing voices of understanding animals with human tangles and behaviors to navigate. He gently weaves a thread throughout his children's books, resulting in opportunities to engage in discourse around strong feelings and reactions to those emotions. This book reads like a fluent poem, with interesting vocabulary and delicate and beautiful illustrations. I appreciate the juxtaposition between squirrel's inability to self-regulate, and all the other forest animals reasonable and mature manners. The stunning illustrations are gentle and warm, and Marcus makes interesting choices about his placement of white space, illustrations, and text. I love the hazelnut end papers. All the characters (even the beguiling squirrel) are irresistible. Each page is a work of art that could be hung on the wall or the cover of a beautiful card. The fact that it is a mystery adds another reason to add this book to your classroom library.