The next morning comes quickly, and the child jumps out of bed to gets dressed and packed for a day in the great outdoors. A man tucks a child into bed in a room filled with outdoor gear. The sun sets on a suburban row house with a fenced yard and a jeep outside. But because it’s wordless, it would be a good fit for speech therapists or counselors trying to get children to “tell the story” of the pictures.A brown father-and-child pair leave the city behind for a day together in the mountains in this wordless picture book by the illustrator of The Good Egg, by Jory John (2019). Some of the vignettes are small, so it might not work well for a large group read aloud. It also beautifully captures the father’s love for the child, so anyone looking for books celebrating that special relationship will love it.

So many small details would be rich prompts for discussion about what the trip will be like and what you’ll have to bring.

To whom would you recommend this book? I would definitely recommend this book to anyone heading out on a camping trip. The delicacy of the trail map endpapers, the soft, woodsy color palette, and the pacing of the storytelling through pictures all add up to an exceptional picture book. I have really loved many of Pete Oswald’s books (including The Bad Seed and The Good Egg ) but in this book, he really stretches his artistic chops. We all need to see more positive depictions of all kinds of people enjoying parks, hiking and birdwatching… Both characters appear as people of color, which definitely fills an empty niche. I also appreciated that it seemed to be about a single dad and that the child was not identifiably male or female. There’s a great overhead shot that shows the child and dad making their way along a forest trail and a sweeping summit view that features the pair with their arms around each other’s shoulders as bald eagles soar overhead. The digital artwork alternates between small vignettes that celebrate gorp, Dad’s reassuring hug and the kid falling asleep on the way home with huge sweeping panoramas that celebrate the beauty of nature. Finally, they plant a small seedling and return to their cozy home. They climb into a rugged SUV and head up into the mountains for a day of hiking, birdwatching and climbing. It’s before dawn when Dad enters the sleeping child’s room, meticulously decorated with posters and decorations celebrating the outdoors and with all the clothing and gear laid out for the day’s adventure. What did you like about the book? This beautiful picture book that celebrates hiking and dads was so compelling that I didn’t initially recall that it was wordless! Only after “reading” the whole thing through a second time did I notice the absence of text.

Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5+

Hike book pete oswald