Outside in: A Caldecott Honor Award Winner
Rhythmic, powerful language shows us how our world is made and the many ways Outside comes in to help and heal us, and reminds us that we are all part of a much greater universe. Emotive illustrations evoke the beauty, simplicity, and wonder that await us all . . . outside.
Earn by promoting books
Earn money by sharing your favorite books through our Affiliate program.
Become an affiliateCindy Derby is an author, illustrator, and puppeteer. She has been a Grand Prize Winner of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators Portfolio Award and her debut picture book How to Walk an Ant publishes this spring. She lives in San Francisco, California.
"Quietly profound...a comforting reminder that Outside will be there for us when we're ready."--The New York Times Book Review "[M]uch subtler and smarter than all those put-down-your-screen stories kids get hit with, and the atmospheric watercolors on these pages mesmerize. Now, more than ever, we need books to remind us that Outside 'beckons with smells, sunbaked, fresh, and mysterious.'" --NPR, Best Books of 2020 ★ "[A] love letter to nature....Lushness without sweetness--wild, darkly romantic, and exquisite."--Kirkus, STARRED review ★ "This gorgeous celebration of nature is a stirring invitation to play." --School Library Journal, STARRED review ★ "A moving reminder that nature's beckoning need not go unrequited." --Publisher's Weekly, STARRED review ★ "[A] gentle, unpreachy text that conveys the way modern life can be cut off from or blind to nature....Ink and watercolor art is gorgeously luminous....Perfect for an outside storytime, this will also provoke discussion among kids about their own outside/inside differentiations." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, STARRED review ★ "[A] lyrical and sensory exploration of the artificial separation between indoors and outdoors....Outside In is a beguiling, thought-provoking book that thinks outside the box." --BookPage, STARRED review "The intersection of outside and inside is creatively explored in this reflection on nature and its gentle persistence and ever-presence....Visible brushstrokes and splashes create texture, reflecting the outside's raw, sensory, and uninhibited beauty--a beauty that (on the last spread) summons the girl out of her house and into the golden outdoors, reminding readers of the majesty that is always there, waiting just outside." --Horn Book Magazine "Lovely, expressionistic art and poetic prose invite readers to contemplate nature's mystique and its role in everyday life.... Through an evocative mix of aqueous washes and richer, more saturated tones, the color-washed, loose-brushed illustrations capture a sense of nature's intrigue, delights, and influence." --Booklist --