In our complicated present, it's easy to see the world needs more love. There are many different kinds of love modeled in recent children's books. Perhaps with all this nurturing, explaining, and preparing, our children will grow up to actualize the caring world adults dream about. While Zoe and her sister relish the adventure of moving west, their mother is lonely and misses signs of home, like roses and eastern songbirds. Zoe and her sister, aware of their mother's longing, surprise her by planting dandelions on their new soddie roof.
Bunting gives an emotional, involving picture of the difficulties of moving west.
Greg Shed's oil paintings make the history seem very close and real. When Borden finds a small owlet hurt in the forest, he brings the creature home. It becomes a part of the family, loved especially by the father who is horrified to discover it's a spotted owl. Love amid times of difficulty and the complexity of ecological issues are both poignantly described. Jake's grandfather has brought everyone a present and for Jake there's a tin box with seeds that he promises will bring hundreds of butterflies.