Big Belching Bog by Phyllis Root, illustrations by Betsy Bowen

Through this picture book, readers get to explore the wonders of a bog.  Root uses free verse to invite readers deeper into the bog, discovering the plants and creatures that live here.  Small moments of life in the bog are captured in the poetry, sights and sounds are shared and wondered at.  The book and the bog have a graceful slow pace that make one take ones time and savor.  And through it all, there is something coming, something to look forward to, something that only we might witness.  This small touch of foreboding makes the book all the more pleasurable to read.  A book for children who love nature, animals and plants, this is a rich look at the quiet bog.

Root’s verse works as if it is small poems on each double page spread rather than one long poem that runs the length of the book.  These small pieces of verse make the book more readable and allow the reader to see the tiny pieces of the bog which in turn make up the whole.  This is a book that encourages you to slow down, linger, listen and watch so that you really understand the place that you are.  The book ends with details about bogs and the animals and plants seen in the book.

Bowen’s illustrations are woodcut prints that have great deep colors and thick lines.  A hermit thrush travels through each page with the reader, often cocking its head in a thoughtful way.  The illustrations capture the beauty of the bog and also that swampy feeling, the tug on your boots, the dampness that surrounds you. 

Both verse and illustrations work as a celebration of the bog, inviting readers to visit and discover the surprise themselves.  Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from library copy.