Being the sole care taker of a child is never easy. This sweet story about a warthog taking care of his infant son is just a pure pleasure full of exuberant colors and beautiful illustrations. The wording is parse but unneeded as everything that needs to be expressed is clearly viewable. I would highly recommend this to any single fathers raising young children because it opens up so much room for discussion in such an innocent way. The pictures are wonderful and the heart of the story is tender and oh so precious in a way one rarely sees. I can clearly see this book becoming an instant classic.

This is a cute little book in graphic novel style art. I really loved the storyline and the illustrations.

Beneath the Trees: First Spring tells the story of a baby warthog and his father exploring the forest during the young son’s first spring time. The story is told in comic / graphic novel style panels and word balloons with several pictures per page. The illustrations are adorable, the color palette is bright but slightly subdued, and the characters are charming and expressive. I was not as impressed with the text, which was minimal and did not add much to the story. I think this story could work just as well as a wordless picture book.

The main theme of the book is the father wants to pick flowers for the son’s mother, but various circumstances get in the way The son has allergies and wants to go home, the father also has allergies and has a bad reaction, there is a rain storm and they have to go home. Finally they get to pick flowers, but the twist ins when they take the flowers to mom they just sit them on a stone under a tree, implying the mother has passed. I was a bit confused by this addition to the story, I don’t know why they introduced the mother’s death when they did not address it in any other way, it seemed a bit contrived and I would have liked the story better if they had either talked more about the mother’s death and her not being there or if they had left that out and the mom was alive and part of the story. Overall the book was a sweet story with very nice illustrations.

I would like to thank the publisher for providing an electronic ARC through NetGalley.

With wonderful artwork and a deceptively simple storyline, Dav tells the story of a father and child spending a day together. They’re seemingly waiting for the mother to return and the father wants them to pick flowers together.

Told as a series of small vignettes, the book is oftentimes without dialogue. The book can be read by children on their own but I recommend reading it with them and discussing the themes therein.

A slight tinge of melancholy colors the story throughout and the reason becomes clear by the very end. This is definitely recommended for parents and children alike.

This was absolutely precious!! In the dedication Disney cartoons are mentioned as being an inspiration, and I could totally see this as a short film that’s played before a Disney movie that’s both adorable and makes everyone want to cry. Mr. Warthog’s dedication to having his baby boy experience spring in a positive way was so wholesome. I also loved the art style!!

This book had very little dialogue. The illustrations were cute though. I don’t understand what this story was supposed to convey. I didn’t love the little bit of dialogue that there was.

This is part of a series of four books each set in the same forest, just a different part of the year. I love all of the books I have read so far and really hope they put them into a trade. This one is about a little pig who has allergies. I could really feel his pain. It was cute and sweet, then sad. I love this series.

5 stars

I have loved this series so much - from the sweet touching stories, to the amazing illustrations [there is often just SO much to look at - one read though is never enough], it has been such a lovely way to revisit the seasons.

This book was no exception, and is lovely, touching, sweet, and suprisingly unexpected story, which just makes it even more special.

Absolutely lovely. I cannot recommend this series enough.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dav, and Diamond Book Distributors/Magnetic Press for providing this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is a sweet story with charming illustrations that will have young readers recognizing their own neighbors, friends, and family members in the endearing animal characters of this forest community. This is a series, I discovered. I'm sure I'll read more of it.

The illustrations and the cute energy that is throughout this story is fun and bright - but it felt a tad repetitive with little layering of newness within. it's cute and silly and certainly a fast bedtime read but could have used a bit more variety in the spring time adventure.

Adorable addition to this series. Each is a wonderful, colorful, heartfelt story about others in this forest themed world.

This one is about an adult (dad) pig and his baby as Spring is beginning to bloom and finding a way for them to enjoy it. Through the rain and allergies, in hopes of collecting a bouquet of flowers for "mom".

**Thank you to Diamond Book Distributors, Magnetic Press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.**

Beneath the Trees is a beautiful illustrative story based on the season of spring. I adored the little cute illustrations and think little readers might love it! However, I do feel that the content was minimum, but it still does well.

Thank you NetGalley and Published for the eARC.

I received an eARC copy from Diamond Book Distributors and Magnetic Press via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Sadly, I missed the previous two books in the series (I got my hands on the first and the last part); nevertheless, I still love the concept and the storyline of this beautiful short nature-inspired book.

With a few words and a series of marvellous illustrations, we see Mr Warthog and his baby boy's very first experience going outdoors. Everything is green, luscious, and new, bringing the air of spring warmth. We got a glimpse of the father-son bond, especially with flower-picking; there is so much love, hope, happiness, and care between these pages. This children's comic book is such a heartwarming and uplifting story about parenthood.

I’ve been following the series, so to see the last ARC out was a delight. This book deals with springtime and is set in the same forest.
The illustrations are lovely and have the spring warmth with an unexpected shower playing spoilsport. However, the content could have been a lot better. Spring is more than allergies, though it is good to talk about pollen allergy.
However, the route adopted in this one didn’t make me happy. I don’t have a pollen allergy, but I do have a dust allergy and know that being repeatedly exposed to it doesn’t cure me of my allergy. It only makes it worse and gives me a month-long cold.
The papa boar keeps taking the kid out into the flowers, and the little one continues to sneeze. It got boring after a while. Also, there isn’t anything funny about being stung by bees.
The reason for picking flowers is heartwarming. I just wish the concept was executed better. Parents should sit with kids and ensure the littles understand the issues properly.
To sum up, Beneath the Trees: First Spring doesn’t fully live up to the rest of the series. But the illustrations are lovely.
I received an ARC from NetGalley, Diamond Book Distributors, and Magnetic Press and am voluntarily leaving a review.

A heartwarming story of a single father who tries to show his child the beauty of nature and its power in making us feel closer to others, who are here and who have passed. I enjoyed the illustration and I felt that they really captured the mood of the story, such as becoming dark when the dad was sad, and brighter when they were happy.

I didn't read the previous books by Dav, so I don't know if there's some continuity to this, but overall it was a cute story. I appreciated the sad bit, the panels of the dad under the rain were so devastating even though I was reading it in the doctor's waiting room lol. I do think it could've done with more text, like a narration maybe, not necessarily more dialogue. That way I feel like it would look more like a story to a little kid, giving them the oportunity to have someone read it to them, instead of just looking at the pictures, though I'm not sure which age is the target here.

Thank you Netgalley and Magnetic Press for providing my copy.

Beneath the Trees is my 2nd read from author and sure won't become the last. This children comic book come rich with classic beauty of Disney art style that give me a strong nostalgic feeling.
The story it self relatable, very expressive and easy to understand.
Actually the ending twist is surprising me and touch deep in my soft spot. I truly can feel the love, emotions and real struggles from Papa Warthog as parents with allergies baby. Beautiful heartwarming story about parenthood. I wish more and gladly recommend it.

This graphic novel-style picture book tells a story of a baby and adult pig who are just trying to enjoy the flowers when allergies hit and it's sneezes and boogers galore! Filled with detailed but also repeated pictures, it is easy for readers to understand the story despite there being very few words. In fact, the repeated pictures and limited words make this book highly accessible to readers of all abilities because the story can be viewed and understood by seeing the repetitions and the similar scenarios taking place on each page. Additionally, graphic novels are very popular right now and I could easily see this book fitting in to the collection of graphic novels my grade 3 students already love. I would recommend this book to parents and teachers of reluctant and emerging readers in the age 4-10 range. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book!

I'm so in love with this series and this is a standout. I'm used to the series being mostly seasonal vibes with often either a cute joke or a little aww moment in the end. If that is what you are expecting here, you won't be disappointed. However, I was surprised to find that First Spring did have some real heart to the story and I was really moved! It is a quick moment that gives everything else new meaning. Great storytelling. The art is impeccable as is always the case with the Beneath the Trees series. I would recommend this to anyone from ages 0 to 100. Probably my favorite in the series.

<b> Beneath the Trees </b> is a Children's picture book that will tug at your heartstrings.

The art style is colorful, expressive, and fun. Throughout the pages, you can clearly understand and deeply feel the papa pig and baby pig's emotions well. For me, it was a hard book to get through, being a mom with a child who has allergies, I kept wanting to yell to bring him back inside that he clearly doesn't want to be outside.

But, the ending was really were it tugged on my heartstrings. The connection between papa and baby was stronger than ever, but also sad.

5 Stars.

<b>Thanks to the publisher, Magnetic Press, the author, and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC copy to read and review. Review will also be posted to my blog (www.kagoodsell.com/book-reviews), GoodReads, TikTok (@unearthingeco), as well as NetGalley reviews.</b>