A young hiker in Oregon's Cascade Range climbs up and down a slope, offering poetic observations along the way.Starting out from a campground on a chilly morning, a child in a red hoodie, accompanied by parents and a younger sibling, walks to the summit of a dormant volcano (identified at the end as South Sister in central Oregon) and back. Along the way, the child takes note in haiku of bright blue skies and a still lake, of thinning trees, bobcat tracks in the snow, tiny toads on the path, and pesky mosquitoes! Glimpses of birds and other wildlife, too, especially butterflies catching updrafts at the very top of the trail, underscore the sublime character of the natural setting. That evening, nestled in a sleeping bag, the child thinks a longer thought: "trying to sleep- / what mountain will I climb / next?" Mann closes with a gallery of mountain flora and fauna spotted on the hike that joins an afterword in which Manley discusses his chosen poetic form (rightly allowing that it isn't as syllabically rigid as often assumed) and pointedly adds a notebook to his list of recommended hiking gear. The child and the rest of the family are brown-skinned; from indistinct views, other hikers appear to be racially diverse.Fresh and vivid. (further reading, websites) (Picture book. 6-9)

Manley (The Rescuer of Tiny Creatures) writes a collection of haiku in the voice of a child whose family summits a dormant volcano in the Pacific Northwest. In digitally finished multimedia artwork that maintains a hand-drawn look, Mann (Maple and Rosemary) views the distant, glowing peak from the group’s campsite. Via the poetic form’s short lines, Manley describes the tan-skinned family setting off through pine trees, swatting mosquitoes, and spotting other beings (“I crouch down and smile/ at tiny toads”). Soon, snow appears, the pines grow shorter as treeline approaches, and more marvels emerge (“up here in the sky—/ what everyone talks about/ is butterflies”). At the summit, framed against a breathtaking expanse, the young narrator stands on the spot “I saw blazing/ at dawn.” Fragments of beauty and knowledge echo the fleeting nature of encounters with life in the wild, and readers share the young hiker’s sense of triumph at having taken on an impressive expedition that feels well within the realm of the possible. Back matter includes more about hiking and the animals mentioned. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Ammi-Joan Paquette, Erin Murphy Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Jan.)

PreS-Gr 3 —An amazing adventure written entirely in haiku. Manley takes readers through a hike to the summit of a mountain. The details conveyed in each set of three lines fully express the journey through the levels up the mountain path. Readers join in the traveler's experience and in the end, will want to find their own mountains to climb. Besides simply sharing the book in story hours, educators can use it in poetry lessons, story writing, the study of mountain ecosystems, nature hikes, and more. Mann's deceptively simple sketches communicate a vast array of colors, textures, diversity, and warmth in the world; readers will want to pore over every detail on every page. It is a clean, crisp story with simple, comfortable art that exudes adventure, curiosity and the intricacies of the natural world. VERDICT A small quest, told in a short-poem form that has a wide-ranging impact, this one little volume can be used and enjoyed in so many ways.—Cassie Veselovsky