Starred Review In a small forest clearing sits a log cabin, where a helpful marmot lives and tends its garden. One day while watering plants, the marmot sees a ribbon of smoke rising from the trees below, which a fire-fighting helicopter quickly takes care of. Knowing there is work to be done, the marmot, accompanied by a little bird, fills a wagon with supplies and dashes to the burn site. Once there, the pair begins the hard, sooty work of clearing the damaged land and planting saplings to replace the trees destroyed by the fire. Fong wordlessly unfurls a story of environmental stewardship through panels and full-page spreads filled with soft, spare digital illustrations styled as graphite drawings reminiscent of Peter McCarty's work and punctuated with meaningful color e green of sprouting saplings, the blue water of a stream, the golden glow of a sunset. The marmot itself is an adorable wooly creature with an explosive pompom of a tail, a broad, triangular nose, and a wonderfully expressive face. The marmot and bird determinedly work to keep the saplings alive through the changing seasons, camping beside them until they are strong enough to make it on their own. The story's gentle drama pairs with the marmot's huge amount of heart to form a timely tale that quietly affirms the intrinsic value of nature.

Upon spotting a wildfire, a bighearted marmot springs to action in this gentle wordless picture book. When the ground squirrel, busy watering tree seedlings, spies smoke in the distant forest, it loads up a wagon, heads to the burn, and sets about reforesting, erecting a tent for the long haul. Delicate grayscale scenes show the fuzzy creature and an avian companion laboring through the seasons-clearing the land, lugging water to the wilting saplings in summer, protecting them from autumn-s blustery wind, and sheltering them from winter snow. Fong-s digital illustrations, suggestive of pencil and charcoal sketches, are brightened with occasional pops of color that highlight woodland flora and emphasize the transformational impact of the marmot-s efforts. Once the saplings have grown tall, the marmot heads home, its evident love for the forest giving the story a bright outlook that encourages stewardship. Ages 4-8. (Feb.)