REVIEW: IT’S NATIONAL EAT OUTSIDE DAY!

​The days are growing shorter which makes me kind of sad, but I’m trying to savor the last days of summer. One of the ways I’m doing this is by being (and even eating) outside when I can. The book I’m reviewing today encourages the reader to appreciate the outside. And it’s gorgeous! 

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TITLE: OUTSIDE IN
AUTHOR: Deborah Underwood
ILLUSTRATOR: Cindy Derby
PUBLISHER: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/2020
OPENING LINES: 
Once 
we were part of Outside 
and Outside was part of us.
There was nothing between us.
Now
Sometimes even when we’re outside…
we’re inside.

​This is the kind of book you want to give a big hug. First off, the illustrations are GORGEOUS. The back page says that Cindy Derby used “watercolor and powdered graphite on cold press paper” and that “some of the lines were created with dried flower stems and thread soaked in ink.” How fitting to create illustrations for a book about the outside using elements of the outside! Deborah Underwood’s lyrical text are just as beautiful as the art. She draws the reader inside the book to remind us to appreciate the outside. She incorporates our senses and our imaginations to bring a love for the outside into our hearts. This is a book I want to own so I can read it over and over. Give it a read. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.
 
Read this review on Goodreads & Amazon.