The family from Secrets of the Garden are back in a new book by Michigan alum Kathleen Weidner Zoehfeld, MA ’77, and illustrator Priscilla Lamont. This time characters Alice and Zack explore the reasons for the seasons. Alice’s narrative is all about noticing the changes in the air as fall turns into winter, spring, and then summer. She explains how the Earth’s yearlong journey around the sun, combined with the tilt in the Earth’s axis, makes the seasons happen.

Alice’s text is clear and simple, and experiential. Two very helpful—and very funny—chickens give more science details and further explanation through charts, diagrams, and sidebars. Packed with sensory details, humor, and solid science, this book makes a complicated concept completely clear for young readers—and also for the many parents who struggle to answer their kids’ questions!