Thank you to NetGalley and the APA for the eARC. These opinions are my own.

What a beautiful story of determination and strength in hard times. Hope it’s such an important thing to everyone, but I think most importantly, to children who need it. I loved the colorful illustrations and the message of this book.

Text and illustrations portray the bond of friendship between a tree and a girl through the season. In autumn she shares her wish that her unemployed father gets a job. She and her class draw pictures of the tree for classmates whose families have moved to find work, and she uses leaves and twigs to create holiday gifts while spreading breadcrumbs beneath the tree so birds will keep the tree company. In the spring she finds the tree's fallen branch but crocuses have sprung up around the tree. In summer the tree offers shade for family picnics. With the return of autumn the tree's orange leaves wave to her as she reads books about heroines. Winter again causes branches to fall, but new growth is everywhere. and the girl thinks of her strong and steady friendship with the tree.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an advance copy of this book provided by the publisher Magination, an imprint of American Psychological Association, via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

I enjoyed this gorgeous picture book. Thank you to Net Galley and the publisher for allowing me a chance to read it!

This was a beautifully illustrated book about changing seasons and the rhythm of those changes. I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A child looks to a tree near her home for inspiration to get through the difficult period of her father’s, and their community’s unemployment. The metaphor of the seasons of the year, the tree’s fruitfulness, and the relative prosperity of the community is carried out in beautiful illustrations.

This is a sweet sensitive book about accepting life’s shortcomings.

I absolutely loved the illustrations, but the text in this story, although it has a beautiful educational message in it, did not flow well. From an abrupt ending to long sentences without enough punctuation. I think, with good editing, it could be a wonderful children’s book.

A beautiful story about the rhythm of nature set to the background of uncertainty through the eyes of a child. A beautiful story about how seasons passing is just a chance for something new and exciting to come along and that even dark times can give way to light.

Colorful and imaginative, the book documents one season and the changing situations of a town facing hardships. Gray buildings are shown with “Closed for business” and “for sale” signs, a little girl notes she hopes her dad finds work soon. Through the seasons, there are lessons from nature on how to stay resilient, how to appreciate what you have (the little girl and her family are shown having Thanksgiving dinner at a community meal center). The final pages are one of hope.

This book meditatively addresses the circle of life through that of a tree and its cycle through the year. It centers around a little girl who shares her feelings and hopes with her friend, a tree, and watches it through Spring, Summer, Fall and Winter. It's nice to see her family embraced by her community and hopeful as she continues through hard times.

The illustrations are beautiful, showing how a tree and a young girl experience changes throughout the seasons of a year. The text is simple and straightforward, describing the girl's experiences and the tree's physical changes, but I found the story lacking because it didn't delve into the girl's life situation enough. It's clear that her family and community are struggling economically, but there's no context for this, and the resolution is vague. I think that if the author wanted to introduce these big issues, then she needed to engage with them more to help a child understand what's happening, why things were so hard, and how they started getting better.

I love books about the seasons and this book is a wonderful way for children to learn about the four seasons, as well as inspiring activities, such as scavenger hunts, activities presented in the book, and so many craft activities. The illustrations are beautiful! Highly recommended for classroom, public, and home libraries!

What a beautiful story. The pictures are bright and vivid. Very attractive to the eye! I can see this book flying off our library shelves!

This book was hard to follow. I struggled understanding what direction the book was taking; I don’t know if this was due to the format I was reading it in or something else.

“Rhythm” beautifully captures the ebb and flow of life’s challenging seasons, reminding us that they are temporary and will always give way to brighter days. It gracefully conveys the message of resilience and finding ways to give back, even in times of scarcity. While the illustrations are captivating, young children may need help from parents to to understand the underlying themes.
Thank you to the author, magination press, and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange of a honest review.

An inventive and sensitive take on stories about the seasons and resilience in the face of adversity. We join the unnamed protagonist on a trip around the sun as she copes with her father's job loss, picnics with her family, looks up at the stars, and delivers nature gifts to a neighborhood tree, a constant presence across the seasons. Connecting with nature, her family, and her community offers the protagonist a sense of stability and hope throughout the year, in spite of her father's job loss and her family's apparent economic instability. This book would be an excellent conversation starter for students coping with family instability, as well as a calm and nature-focused read-aloud option for children. We'll be awaiting its release so that we can add it to our library collection!

Though the story felt a little clunky to me in terms of the "rhythm," I liked the bright colors and beautiful illustrations, as well as the representation and the not very "happy" ending we might see in other children's books. I appreciate the realistic view on the situation that many readers might be able to relate to.

The pictures are beautiful, but the story seemed a little disjointed. The tree changing through the seasons made sense, but the rest about her community and family seemed thrown in there like a second thought. It wasn’t totally clear how it all related.

Wow
This is such a lovely beautiful book. As a
former teacher and reader , I would absolutely recommend for in the classroom or library ages 5 and up. Beautiful illustrations and themes and they will enjoy listening and expanding their : adjectives and later understand the theme
Themes: Resiliency, gratitude, kindness
Family and change

The tree metaphorically being in sync with her.

So beautiful

Beautifully written. I loved how the girl looked to the tree as a friend and could connect things in her daily life to the things she saw the tree go through with the seasons. This book is a great reminder to all of us that we can learn from nature.

This book radiates a calm, quiet sense of hope. I don't know how much it will appeal to children, but I feel that some adults will want to share it with their young ones.