Two leaves hang off a nearby tree as the text reads “forest green”. Open the book and the first pictures you see are of a woodland scene. I know we’re talking colors here but if I were to capture this book in a single word then there's only one that would do: Delicious. If my weirdness is any kind of a litmus test, kids will definitely get a visceral reaction when they flip through the pages. I vacillate between wanting to smear those thick paints with my hands and wanting to lick it to see if it tastes like green frosting. Now I’m seeing it again with Laura Vaccaro Seeger’s Green. The last time I saw it happen was Jerry Pinkney’s The Lion and the Mouse. We children’s librarians sit and wait for true beauty to fall into our laps.

But when you want something that distinguishes itself and draws attention without sparkles or glitter the search can be a little fraught. Not that there aren’t pretty little picture books churned out of publishing houses every day. Sometimes you also want that book to be recent. Sometimes you just want to show a kid a beautiful picture book. She takes long walks at the beach every day and paints in her studio every night. She loves painting, surfing, tennis, playing the piano, and spending time with her family. Seeger lives in Rockville Centre, Long Island, with her husband, Chris, their two sons, Drew and Dylan, and their dog, Copper. degree at the School of Fine Art and Design at SUNY Purchase in Westchester, New York, and then moved to Manhattan, where she worked as an animator, artist, and editor in the network television business. For as long as she remembers, she wanted to write picture books. Raised on Long Island, New York, Seeger began drawing at two years old and never stopped. Her books include First the Egg, The Hidden Alphabet, and Dog and Bear, among others. The pages illustrate different shades of green in nature, with cut-out shapes linking the different scenes.Laura Vaccaro Seeger is a New York Times best-selling author and illustrator and the recipient of a 2008 Caldecott Honor, Theodor Seuss Geisel Honors for both 20, a 2007 New York Times Best Illustrated Book Award, and the 2007 Boston Globe/Horn Book Award for Best Picture Book. It was first published in 2012 by Roaring Brook Press. Green is a children's picture book by American author and artist Laura Vaccaro Seeger.

Green by Laura Vaccaro Seeger