Clanton’s reliance on earth tones makes for some clever, surprising page turns when the palette is broken. The cartoon illustrations were created using watercolors, colored pencils, digital collage, and-brilliantly-potato stamps. Clanton creates a winning dynamic, balancing Rot’s earnestness, witty dialogue, and an omniscient, slightly melodramatic narrator. The disguises are one thing, but, deep down, is Rot really brave enough to face the Squirm? Readers wooed by Rot’s charm in Rot: The Cutest in the World (2017) will laugh out loud at this well-paced encore-and it’s not just because of the butt cracks. There’s “Super Spud” (a superhero), “Sir Super Rot, the Brave and Bold” (a superhero-knight), and even “Sir Super Rot the Pigtato” (a, um, superhero-knight-pig-potato). But he doesn’t give up! Instead, Rot imagines himself in various disguises to work up courage.

À la Pete the Cat, Rot celebrates mud in song: “Mud between my toes! / Mud in my nose! / Mud is GREAT / wherever it GOES!” When Rot’s big brother, Snot, tells Rot about the Squirm that lives “deep down in the mushy muck,” his love quickly turns to fear. But few taters have more tender feelings toward muck than Rot. Mud is good for playing games, eating, and even sleeping. Unfortunately, in the one illustration depicting the earth in its path around the sun, the seasons are labeled incorrectly: The North Pole is pointing away from the sun during the “summer solstice.” Still, with a corrected picture replacing this one page, this could be a valuable seasonal resource, as are the two previous (and correct) titles about winter and fall. Bleck’s bright colors sing of spring, and she masterfully brings other cultures to life, capturing the essential parts of each celebration. Several pages of spring crafts and recipes follow the text, along with a list of print and online resources. The holidays include the Chinese New Year, No Ruz in Iran, Holi in India, Maslenitsa in Russia, the Jewish Passover, the Christian Easter as well as explanations of what the Maya in Mexico and the Cree in America did to mark the spring equinox. Following this are succinct and interesting explanations of how various peoples throughout the world commemorate this day and the historical origins of their celebrations. Beginning with the signs and activities that herald spring’s arrival, there is a short explanation of the spring equinox. Continuing her tributes to the seasons, Pfeffer explores spring in her latest science/history title.

A New Beginning by Wendy Pfeffer