Secrets I Know

Whimsical text ("Secrets are for whispering") and illustrations in muted colors convey the thoughtful interior life of a little girl's day at play. She heads outside on a windy day with her yellow raincoat, her umbrella, and her lamb-like little dog, noticing that the sound of the blowing leaves is like "whispers hid[ing] in trees." After waiting out a rain shower in a tree house, she floats her open umbrella in a puddle, and then sets up a pretend tea party in a sandbox, with seashells for cups and saucers. Each double-page spread holds just one phrase or sentence (occasionally, two), but the story is told largely through the illustrations, so children will linger to see what the girl and dog do next. Zakimi's digitally colored pencil illustrations play with the thickness of lines to give texture. Toward the end, the little girl (who is white) visits with a brown-skinned friend, and the two return together to the tree house with a telescope to look at the sky: "Stars keep your secrets. They only tell the trees. And trees make great umbrellas. Which you already know." This quiet picture book celebrates the joys of observation and old-fashioned playtime. susan dove lempke