It's Moving Day.

Gregory Bryan is a member of the Faculty of Education at the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg.

It’s Moving Day! provides introductory information about the interdependence and life cycles of various woodland animals. Despite what seems at first glance to be simple text and illustrations, Pamela Hickman and Geraldo Valério’s collaboration is high in energy and the pair combines well to create a product greater than the sum of the individual parts.

Hickman is a naturalist who has penned a number of books introducing children to their natural surroundings. It’s Moving Day! tells of a succession of creatures that move into and, eventually, out of a burrow beneath a big tree on the edge of a field.

Valério’s acrylic paintings feature broad brush strokes and a visually pleasing colour palette. The swirling fluidity of the images and the use of curved lines and elongated animal shapes lend a sense of movement to the artwork that is reflective of the frenetic activity of moving days.

Parents will enjoy sharing this book with young children. Highly recommended.