In immersive photographed scenes and dialogue-heavy narration, the handmade anthropomorphic pals from Snow Much Fun!--apricot-colored fox Ginger, white bear Berry, and cornflower blue rabbit Willow--head out for a bike ride on a "great day in fall." After biking to the top of Lookout Hill, the trio decides to visit the farmer's market, where they run into old friend Honey, a yellow bear, and Honey's friend Rowan, a raccoon. The group gives thanks, goes apple picking, harvests crops, and finally throws an autumnal celebration. The story focuses more on friendly connections than on narrative arc, but it generously emphasizes the importance of meals cooked and shared with pals. Ages 4--8. (Sept.)

PreS-Gr 1--A charming cast of woodland creatures revels in the joys of autumn in this feel-good picture book. On a glorious fall day, three friends enjoy a bike ride followed by a trip to a bountiful farmer's market: "A great day in fall gets even greater when old friends meet new friends and make plans for later." Described in gently rhyming prose, the friends indulge in more traditional activities including picking apples and making pie, playing in leaf piles, and harvesting the garden. The bountiful harvest inspires them to plan a meal together, the titular Friendsgiving. Gibson's illustrations are created by photographing handmade props and soft sculpture figures. Young readers will delight in noticing the details of each setting created for the story--tiny vegetable and cider donuts, apples and leaves, carved pumpkins, and of course, the adorable animals and their clothes. Siscoe's gentle story focuses on friendship and the pleasures of the season without explicitly mentioning Thanksgiving, pilgrims, or religion, a detail that many librarians and teachers in search of autumn read-alouds will appreciate. VERDICT This secular harvest celebration fills a need in all collections.--Kristy Pasquariello, Westwood P.L., MA

An autumnal celebration of friends and gratitude, minus story and historical context. Siscoe's text follows a group of anthropomorphic animals who are enjoying the fall season. As time passes and their numbers grow, they decide to get together for a meal. Although this gathering includes overt offerings of thanks and the menu has some hallmarks of the traditional American Thanksgiving feast (a pumpkin pie, roasted squash, cranberry sauce), the centerpiece of a roasted turkey is not there (there is no flesh of any kind). Also missing are any references to particular historical context, and any whitewashed references to Pilgrims and Indians are mercifully absent from words and pictures. Ultimately, however, there's little to sink one's teeth into in terms of story. Gibson's illustrations, which are photographed dioramas with intricate settings, are more engaging, with the animal-doll characters positioned against hazy autumnal settings of a hill's summit, a farmers market, an orchard, a garden, and then interior scenes of the titular "Friendsgiving" gathering. Children will likely enjoy them more than they will engage with the plot, which mostly involves bland conversations about foodstuffs, including one spread in which the characters marvel at the variety of apples they pick and another in which a mild debate over the superiority of apple pie versus apple crisp is resolved with the chipper agreement that both are delicious. Ho hum. Please pass the next book. (Picture book. 2-5) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.