Together with You

November 15, 2022
In this book in verse, two loved ones enjoy the pleasures that each season brings. The title page's illustration suggests that the characters are grandparent and grandchild: Two adults, one light-skinned and one dark-skinned, are dropping the child off with an older adult, who stands poised for a hug. The digitally engineered artwork gives an impression of charcoal, watercolor, and pastels, which creates a soothing accompaniment to words that are equally tender. Beginning with spring, each season is allotted six pages for the child's ruminations on their various activities. The text scans well and speaks to the simpler pleasures of being with loved ones: sharing an umbrella in spring, cooling off in the shade in summer, flying a kite in autumn, and cozying up indoors with hot beverages in winter. Details about differences between the two characters enhance the feeling of fond familiarity: "I zip up my fleece to the tip of my chin. / You pull on a sweater instead." The final pages of the book wrap up in an expected way, with the child summarizing their feelings as night falls outside: "For no matter the weather / whatever we do, every day's better... // together with you." Though the last verse feels a little clich�d, it's saved by the sincerity and intimacy of the previous pages. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A lovely bedtime pick to share with a beloved grandparent. (Picture book. 3-5)

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May 1, 2023
Cozy companionship marks Toht’s warmhearted tale of a loving intergenerational relationship throughout the year. Dropped off by two adults—one brown-skinned, one pink-skinned—a child cued as biracial extends arms to a white-presenting, gray-haired elder eager to reciprocate the embrace. Rendered in rhyming first-person narration, the child’s close observations detail contented awareness of the duo’s seasonal activities. In the rainy springtime, “I fasten the snaps of my yellow raincoat. You slip on your green mackintosh”; in the summer heat, “I take a sweet taste of a chilly ice pop; your favorite is cool lemonade.” Via jewel tones and layered scenes, Jarvis’s loosely rendered digital illustrations depict trust, joy, and gratification, adding loving visuals to this gentle read that soothes like a hug. “For no matter the weather,/ whatever we do,/ every day’s better...// together with you.” Ages 3–7.