FICTION

Maple and Willow Together

illus. by Lori Nichols. 32p. Penguin/Nancy Paulsen Bks. Nov. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9780399162831.
COPY ISBN
PreS-K—In this sequel to Maple (Putnam, 2014), Willow is now a toddler. Close friends, the sisters make leaf angels in autumn, cuddle at night, and play hide-and-seek. Willow's early counting skills frustrate her big sister but sparks don't fly until there's a push-and-shout disagreement about the fate of their dandelions. After the two are separated, things get boring, so they exchange apology gifts across the hall, embrace compromise, and then return to their merry routine of daily life. Digitally colored pencil on Mylar drawings balance dainty lines in spare scenes of varying perspective and palette. Nichols keeps her tale blissfully simple to complement the youngsters' antics.—Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA
Maple welcomed little sis Willow in Maple. In this follow-up, the pair does everything together--reading, sleeping in the same bed, even communicating in tongues (i.e., Pig Latin)--until a tiff over dandelion-collecting. An almost-immediate truce saps some tension, but their bond is sweet and Nichols's adorable, gently emotive pencil drawings with luminous digital coloring stand out.

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