Orange in January by Dianna Hutts Aston, illustrated by Julie Maren.

Reading like a poem, this picture book follows an orange from the blossom to the hands of a child.  The language of the book is beautiful, creating a very mellow and deep view of the world, just the right type of voice for a book about fruit. 

Here is one page, after the boy brings the orange home:

That night,
as ice gleamed on the branches,
he dreamed
of a land that shone
in summer light.

But there are so many pages with that sort of lovely language on them.  And do you see how child-friendly it is, but still emotionally deep and speaking volumes? 

And let’s talk about the illustrations.  Maren has created images that echo the depth of the words, filled with rich colors of deep blues, bright oranges, and in the same way the illustrations are child-friendly but somehow deeper and richer than most. 

Highly recommended as a perfect intro to poetry for children.  Share it in storytimes, it reads aloud almost magically and the illustrations are perfect for sharing.  Or it is also a perfect book to curl up and read on a snowy evening, while snacking on an orange of course!