Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

Echoing Ecclesiastes, Ashman explores ordinary miracles through the seasons. "A cloud knows how to rain. / The thunder, how to boom. // A bulb knows when it's time to sleep / and when it's time to bloom." The gentle rhymes continue as the pages turn, the seasons changing from spring to summer, then fall to winter. Seeds sprout, lambs bleat, waves tumble to the shore, swallows migrate, oak leaves fall, bears hibernate, and hares change to their winter coats. "And—not so very long ago, / on a moonlit night— / you knew how to tell me / that the time was finally right. // The days know how to march along / no matter what we do. / And I know how to love you. / No one taught me… // I just knew." Ashman's poetic verses are perfectly complemented by Dyer's watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and gouache illustrations, which portray the natural world realistically, from the eyelashes on the lamb and the fuzz on the bee to the needles on the evergreen. A curly-haired blond cherub with wonderfully chubby pink cheeks is the focus, enjoying the wonders of nature. When the thunder booms and the waves crash, mother is there to soothe and protect, love, and provide a lap for reading this very book. Simply beautiful. (Picture book. 4-7)

ALA Booklist (Mon Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2016)

Elements of nature instinctively know what they're supposed to do: "A seed knows how to sprout, / A lamb knows how to bleat. / A bee knows where the nectar is / to make the honey sweet." A litany of such occurrences ouds making rain, trees growing and losing leaves ke up the text until we see the pregnant woman, who is actually our narrator. She, too, has her own internal timetable. When her baby is born, no one needs to teach her how to love her child, now sitting on her lap: "I just knew." The simple yet artful rhymes are made to be read aloud to young listeners sitting on their own parents' laps. Illustrator Dyer is the go-to artist for the softest and sweetest of artwork featuring young children, and she doesn't disappoint here. A towheaded child is the focus, but both friends, flora, and fauna are equally endearing. Children may find more in this book than just sentiment, so prepare for questions. How, they might ask, does a bulb know when to bloom?

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

Echoing Ecclesiastes, Ashman explores ordinary miracles through the seasons. "A cloud knows how to rain. / The thunder, how to boom. // A bulb knows when it's time to sleep / and when it's time to bloom." The gentle rhymes continue as the pages turn, the seasons changing from spring to summer, then fall to winter. Seeds sprout, lambs bleat, waves tumble to the shore, swallows migrate, oak leaves fall, bears hibernate, and hares change to their winter coats. "And—not so very long ago, / on a moonlit night— / you knew how to tell me / that the time was finally right. // The days know how to march along / no matter what we do. / And I know how to love you. / No one taught me… // I just knew." Ashman's poetic verses are perfectly complemented by Dyer's watercolor, acrylic, pencil, and gouache illustrations, which portray the natural world realistically, from the eyelashes on the lamb and the fuzz on the bee to the needles on the evergreen. A curly-haired blond cherub with wonderfully chubby pink cheeks is the focus, enjoying the wonders of nature. When the thunder booms and the waves crash, mother is there to soothe and protect, love, and provide a lap for reading this very book. Simply beautiful. (Picture book. 4-7)

School Library Journal (Fri Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

PreS-Gr 1 This musical read-aloud tracks an unnamed child through various nature-filled scenes and seasons"A cloud knows how to rain./The thunder, how to boom./A bulb knows when it's time to sleep/and when it's time to bloom." Readers follow along from farm to forest to seashore and back, ending at home with the big finale. "Andnot so very long ago,/on a moonlit night you knew how to tell me/that the time was finally right./The days know how to march along/no matter what we do./And I know how to love you,/no one taught me/I just knew." This sweet journey of nature and love is wonderfully illustrated with Dyer's softly artistic and realistic style, which has served many other picture books so well. She perfectly mirrors the mood and text of the story while providing welcome details and texture. VERDICT This lovely book is a great read-aloud for storytime or individual sharing. It also might spark discussions by children asking about how the mother knew "the time was right." Catherine Callegari, formerly at Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH