Physician Diana Farid uses her medical expertise and poetry skill to give young readers a magical glimpse into the life-giving process of breathing. Farid's strong, accessible imagery and Billy Renkl's bold, colorful collage and mixed-media illustrations work together to educate a young audience about this vital, involuntary function.
A miraculous transformation occurs when the air outside the body is inhaled. It becomes breath. "When you breathe--/ whoosh!--/ breath fills/ the upside-down tree/ inside your rising chest." The textual and visual metaphor aptly relates the lungs bronchi with the branching plant that provides the air to start. Renkl's stunning depiction of the inverted tree, complete with colorful flowers and vibrant leaves, drives home the beauty of the system. "Breath blooms/ at tree tips,/ like sprouting leaves/ on lush spring stems." The activity in the lungs pushes this marvelous substance out to all corners of the body, bringing life: "every step,/ every hop,/ every ascending tune." Then, when "those grand atoms... which make the stars" complete their course, the breath returns to the world as air.
The science of the body is wholly charming in this poetic tribute to lungs. Farid's representation is awe-inspiring and accessible, despite the complex topic. Renkl's dramatic illustrations--layers of patterned shapes in rich colors and textures--gives the art dimension and vibrancy. An added bonus is a vocabulary list of breathing words at the end of the book. When You Breathe, an author and illustrator debut, is a sensory extravaganza. --Jen Forbus, freelancer