Note: I accessed a digital review copy of this book through Edelweiss. ( )

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thoughts and opinions are my own. Any quotes I use are from an unpublished copy and may not reflect the finished product.

I really enjoyed reading this one with my monsters! My Forest Is Green subtly incorporates opposing adjectives while delivering a sweet story with lovely illustrations. "My forest is short," shows a child looking down at ants crawling across the ground, implying that it's largely about our perspective. We also see fluffy, prickly, rough, smooth, and various others. I really liked all of the ways the author described the "forest" and what it meant to the main character. He has essentially created his own forest with items he's found outside, collecting them throughout the seasons and incorporating them into his artwork. We see a lot of interesting ways to make art with nature, and learn that a forest can be more than just trees. (★★★★☆)

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Continuing the theme is renewal and outdoors in this Spring’s new releases, My Forest is Green by Darren Lebeuf and Ashley Barron is an artistic exploration of an urban forest.

Using descriptive, lyrical language, Darren Lebeuf paints a picture of the child’s forest describing it’s colours, sounds, textures and sights. Using art, the narrator tells the reader all about his/her forest. My Forest is Green is a beautiful introduction to art techniques and forest features, encouraging children to get out and describe their own forests. Perhaps you live in a rural setting and have forests around you. What do your forests look like, feel like, sounds like. Maybe you live in an urban setting, how can you bring the forest to you and how would you describe it to another person.

Brilliantly illustrated by Ashley Barron, the words come to life on the pages and the reader is left with a myriad or different artistic ideas to create their own forest. You will love all of the different ideas to come from the words and illustrations and will come back to this book again and again for fresh inspiration. Ashley Barron cleverly uses collage, watercolour, acrylic and pencil crayon to illustrate the forest creating the opportunity to derive inspiration and positive energy. If you can’t go forest bathing, this book is the next best thing and may inspire you to create your own forest, wherever you live. Anyone from Toronto will get a feel of our own urban forest under the Don Valley Parkway and will see their own urban living situation reflected in the illustrations ( )

In this beautiful picture book, Darren Lebeuf encourages small children to look closer at and appreciate the nature that surrounds them. The boy in the story uses his natural setting as an outdoor classroom. Possibly the best feature of the book is the poetic vocabulary that Lebeuf uses, such as “fluffy” and “prickly,” “dense” and “sparse,” “crispy” and “soft, to describe the forest. The vivid descriptions of the forest provides a natural lead in to discussions of biology and science. The pace and rhythm of the story make for an almost song-like read aloud. ( )

I love outdoor adventures that come in for artistic escapades! This book does just that. The little nature artist uses collage, paint, shapes, textures, photography, and colors to create his "forests". The author utilizes excellent descriptive words such as soft, tall, short, prickly, to move the text forward. It would be wonderful to read this book to little ones just discovering textures, colors, and comparative words. It would also be a useful springboard for an art lesson. ( )