Classically drafted, light-filled spreads follow a pair of child heroes through this mountainfaring adventure by Soman (the Ladybug Girl series). It opens in a European-style walled village with a huddle of red-tiled roofs, where Anna and little brother Finn, both white, spy a mountain beyond the village walls. It's so big that it dwarfs them, the village, and the surrounding countryside. Knowing that she has to climb it, Anna persuades small Finn to come with her, resisting the warnings of neighbors. "Climbing the Mountain is impossible!" says the blacksmith. "You'll never get past the River!" "I can," says Anna. And she does. She and Finn ford the river, find a path across a sheer rock face, and spend the night in a cave with an unexpected companion, at every turn finding resources and resolve. It's a story about setting a goal and pursuing it in a saga refreshingly free of evildoers. And there's nothing juvenile or cute about Soman's colored pencil, gouache, and watercolor portraits of thundering cataracts and monumental cliffs, which confer dignity and importance on Anna and Finn's journey. Ages 3--6. Agent: Douglas Stewart, Sterling Lord Literistic. (Nov.)

Purple-haired Anna and her little brother, Finn, live in a village surrounded by a high wall. The wall, they are told, provides shelter "from a scary, unknown world." Predictably, Anna's curiosity is piqued, and she and Finn climb the wall to find that an enormous mountain lies beyond. It beckons to her, and soon enough, Anna and Finn leave the village with a plan to scale the mountain. The metaphors are abundant and unsubtle: a raging river, stepping stones, wolves, a bear, perilous weather. The children's constant vulnerability is ever-present, visible in the contrast between their smallness and the vast expanse of the landscape, yet they remain steadfast in their goal. Watercolor and gouache illustrations capturing the lush beauty of the woods, meadows, and peaks that belie the danger the children face. A red cardinal accompanies Anna and Finn, like a sentinel or a beacon ushering them forward to a world of possibilities. Enjoy this as a modern fairy tale or dig deep to explore the subtext. Both will be pleasing reading experiences.

A classic hero's-journey tale of perseverance and determination. Anna and her younger brother, Finn, live in a medieval-looking village surrounded by a circular stone wall, which, they are told, keeps them safe from the "scary, unknown world." Both are illustrated as White. But Anna (who has purple hair--a visual heads up to her nonconformity) wants more from life. She and Finn scale the wall and see not only the whole of their village spread out below, but, when turning around, a huge, majestic mountain. Anna determines to climb it and tells Finn he is coming too. The children are discouraged by the townspeople, but despite tales of a rushing river, a terrible bear, and steep cliffs, the children go anyway. The children face their obstacles with perseverance and courage, finding a way across the river, befriending the bear, and outwitting wolves, among other challenges, and eventually reach their goal. This metaphorical story is comfortably obvious in its delivery and intention--although a nudge of encouragement to persevere may be just what readers need these days. The illustrations depict the majesty of forest and mountains with assurance and are especially successful in their atmospheric infusion of light and shadow. A few townspeople are illustrated with brown skin; most are illustrated as White. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A comfortable quest ably illustrated. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Anna, "like a wildflower between the stones," lives with her little brother in a village surrounded by a wall. It is meant to protect them from the unknown world on the other side, one that includes a formidable bear. After getting a glimpse of the magnificent mountain beyond the wall, the two set out, despite warnings ("Climbing the mountain is impossible!"). They brave the unsettling woods, thundering waterfalls, a sharply steep and seemingly never-ending mountain climb, snow, and even the legendary bear, who is not as fearsome as he was made out to be. When the children finally arrive at the mountaintop, they look down at a breathtaking view, which includes their home village below. They head back, knowing the world is "full of mountains, all of them waiting to be climbed." Soman's use of capitalization throughout (the Village, the Wall, the Great and Terrible Bear, and even the Mountain Goat) gives the story a stately feel; that the hero of the epic, exhibiting deeds of great valor, is a girl (with purple hair to boot) is all the more satisfying. Though the siblings' return home is triumphant, the real treasure is the journey itself, filled with dramatic and cinematic vistas in Soman's expansive watercolor, gouache, and colored-pencil paintings -- soaring mountains, wild orchards in shimmering sunlight, the immense waterfalls, the glistening river, and more. Julie Danielson January/February 2022 p.99(c) Copyright 2022. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.