"A pale-skinned child crosses a blank, white page into a screen of trees, where "wonders await." Readers entering this book's varied landscape encounter similarly wondrous pictures and words. They stand in the child's shoes, enveloped by forest under a lush canopy of green leaves, looking skyward at brilliant birds darting from limb to limb. Verdant watercolor illustrations describe both the density and individuality of the myriad botanicals entwined in woods: fronds, leaves, branches, twigs, stems, grasses, and blossoms. Gentle imperative urgings pull readers into a lush, wooded embrace ("Run wild in the jungle!"; "Follow footprints. / See where they lead you"). Dek's evocative woodland pictures, earnest phrases, and unhurried pacing evoke the quiet pauses and exhilarating discoveries experienced during a walk in the forest. Inventive compositional choices and surprising, shifting perspectives keep readers alert, expectant, and fully engaged. They look from above in all-encompassing aerial illustrations; they burble underwater, examine nests, seeds, blossoms, and wild strawberries, gaze eye to eye with a fox, and survey upper branches from a bough. Deer and birds come and go across the page. Vines creep. Footprints meander. A breathless quiet falls on wordless spreads, conjuring that feeling of clearheadedness offered by nature. A startling, successful evocation of the natural world and an urgent entreaty for young people to immerse themselves in the outdoors. (Picture book. 4-8)" - Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Dek's invitation to explore the forest's magic and to leave behind civilization, vehicles, technology-even other people-feels honest and strikingly personal. Her story itself is a journey." - Publisher's Weekly
"Revel in the woods as a magical place for play and exploration. Discover the forest in all its mysterious glory with this book." - Learning Magazine
"The sensory pleasures of the woods are on display in "A Walk in the Forest," a quietly beautiful book written and illustrated by Maria Dek." - The New York Times Book Review