title: How Robin Saved Spring
author:  Debbie Ouellet 
description: Lady Winter (A perfect world would be cold and white every day of the year) knits a magical white blanket to ensure that Sister Spring will never awaken from her seasonal slumber. A troubled Robin calls on his woodland friends to help wake Sister Spring, but Bear, Caterpillar, Maple Tree, Ladybug, and Skunk all fail. Robin finally flies to Mother Sun for some morning light, which awakens Sister Spring, but the closeness to Mother Sun turns Robins plain brown belly into a bright orange-red. Ceccolis romanticized acrylic paintings are not as edgily effective as those in The Girl in the Castle inside the Museum (2008), andthe visual characterizations dontenforce the potential robustness of the story. Still, this attractive bookwill attract adult readers who might want to include it in seasonal story hours. This original how-and-why story has the repetitive structure of a folktale, although Ouellets tale is not based in traditional lore. Preschool-Grade 2. --Janice Del Negro
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  Chapter Twenty-one
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Lights bobbed up the driveway. Kade’s truck rolled to a stop. The door opened
  and a baby wailed. Skylar dashed down the porch steps before Kade had Eliza
  out of the car seat.
  
  “What’s wrong?”
  
  “She’s mad at me for some reason. She screamed all the way home. Again.”
  
  “I’m sure it’s not you personally, Kade.” Sky unbuckled Eliza, picked her up,
  and right away Eliza snuggled into her and quit crying.
  
  Kade froze. “What did you do to get her to stop?”
  
  “Nothing magical. Must be luck.” She draped the blanket over Eliza to keep the
  rain off. Inside, while she waited for the bottle to warm, she changed Eliza’s
  diaper and put her in her fuzzy pajamas.
  
  After sucking down the bottle, Eliza fell asleep as if she’d been drugged,
  rosebud mouth slack, dark head thrown back. Sky settled her in her crib and
  returned to the kitchen.
  
  Kade was drinking a beer, gazing out the back door. She saw six canisters of
  formula, three bags of diapers, a gallon of milk, a bag of a