Author and illustrator Helen Yoon's Is This… Spring? expands her ongoing Is This…? series (Is This... Winter?) with a joyfully rambunctious ode to the glorious vernal equinox that can't be tempered, despite some powerful histamines.
"I love spring!" a small brown pup gleefully announces. While their human hangs up the laundry in the background, the pooch energetically enjoys the flowering open fields, romping, rolling, and making "spring angels!" But before they can finish their heartfelt declaration ("I especially love the sme--"), the canine's entire face emits a body shaking "Aaaah... CHOOOO!!" Running home sobbing, miserably overwhelmed--"How can I live now?"--the pup begs for help and gets just the right (humorous) human intervention to declare again, "I STILL LOVE SPRING."
Yoon's spare narrative succinctly and perfectly captures the utter joy, the dampening discovery, and the triumphant mitigation of a ubiquitous problem for many species: the dreadful suffering of spring allergies. Her text in various sizes, angles, and styles cleverly reflects the boisterous pooch's roller-coastering reactions. Her delightfully uproarious illustrations in kaleidoscopic colors gorgeously manifest the endless blooms; she appropriately clouds over her spreads with greys and blues while the pup (over)dramatically mourns their possible banishment from the enticing outdoors. The hues promptly resume their vibrancy as soon as the human wipes away tears and begins to present a solution. By the final spread, both human and canine are contentedly nestled amid the inviting blossoms. Readers, too, will surely want to jump right in. --Terry Hong