ALA Booklist (Sat Oct 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

Budding naturalists will find much to pore over in this attractive picture book. Rhyming text guides the reader from dawn to nightfall in the Great North Woods, an area described on the dust jacket as "a vast habitat of boreal forest that extends from the eastern Great Lakes, across four northeastern states, and continues into the Canadian province of Quebec." Dramatic acrylic paintings dominate each double-page spread. These are not still lifes, but powerful portraits full of energy and movement. The palette of blues, browns, and greens is sometimes broken up by a dash of red as a fox slinks across a moonlit forest floor, or the purple of a swamp thistle. The illustrations are captioned, but often the text is too small to stand out against the page or is simply dwarfed by the paintings. Although young researchers will have to look elsewhere for substantive information about the Great North Woods, the high visual content makes this an excellent book for browsing, allowing a peek into a unique ecosystem.

Horn Book (Tue Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2017)

A rhyming, celebratory look at the animals and plants prevalent in the Great North Woods. The rich acrylic paintings highlight the vibrant ecosystem's teeming life throughout the day: aspens quiver in the breeze and the bobcat stirs in its lair at dawn; the star-nosed mole breaks ground and a barn owl plummets toward its prey come nightfall. A beautiful pairing of language and visual imagery.

School Library Journal (Thu Sep 01 00:00:00 CDT 2016)

PreS-Gr 2 This lyrical introduction to the Great North Woods begins at dawn and continues into night. Rhyming poetry invites readers into the environment, where "aspens quiver." Word selection and art work together, evoking movement while identifying characteristics of flora and fauna. For instance, wolves have "bristling fur and panting mouths" as they trot south, the intent look on their faces indicating they are stalking prey. Many of the acrylic paintings are featured in full spreads, the palette shifting from warm, bright hues to cool tones as the day cedes to dusk. The nocturnal scenes are particularly eye-catching, capturing a rare tonal quality of night while providing enough light to view the dynamics of nighttime critters. Although this title is geared toward a younger audience, Heinz doesn't shy away from the reality of nature and uses alliteration to accentuate these moments, for example, "crayfish crunch" for a raccoon's late-night snack. Italicized text, offset in minuscule labels, offers minimal description of some of the wildlife on each page but not enough for true informational purposes. Clearly meant as a general introduction to the boreal forest, this is a work to savor for its lavish art and enticing verse. VERDICT A stirring informational picture book for sharing aloud, this is especially a winner for libraries surrounding the Great Lakes and in the Northeastern United States up through Quebec. Rachel Zuffa, Racine Public Library, WI