Maria Dek is an illustrator based in Gdańsk, Poland. After studying visual arts in London, she went on to receive her degree in illustration at the Beaux-Arts Academy of Warsaw. She has written and illustrated three books, and her illustration clients include cultural and educational institutions. A Walk in the Forest is her first book to be translated into English. 2016 will see the publication of two more of Maria Dek's books in Poland, and one in France.
"A pale-skinned child crosses a blank, white page into a screen of
trees, where "wonders await." Readers entering this book's varied
landscape encounter similarly wondrous pictures and words. They
stand in the child's shoes, enveloped by forest under a lush canopy
of green leaves, looking skyward at brilliant birds darting from
limb to limb. Verdant watercolor illustrations describe both the
density and individuality of the myriad botanicals entwined in
woods: fronds, leaves, branches, twigs, stems, grasses, and
blossoms. Gentle imperative urgings pull readers into a lush,
wooded embrace ("Run wild in the jungle!"; "Follow footprints. /
See where they lead you"). Dek's evocative woodland pictures,
earnest phrases, and unhurried pacing evoke the quiet pauses and
exhilarating discoveries experienced during a walk in the forest.
Inventive compositional choices and surprising, shifting
perspectives keep readers alert, expectant, and fully engaged. They
look from above in all-encompassing aerial illustrations; they
burble underwater, examine nests, seeds, blossoms, and wild
strawberries, gaze eye to eye with a fox, and survey upper branches
from a bough. Deer and birds come and go across the page. Vines
creep. Footprints meander. A breathless quiet falls on wordless
spreads, conjuring that feeling of clearheadedness offered by
nature. A startling, successful evocation of the natural world and
an urgent entreaty for young people to immerse themselves in the
outdoors. (Picture book. 4-8)" - Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review
"Dek's invitation to explore the forest's magic and to leave behind
civilization, vehicles, technology-even other people-feels honest
and strikingly personal. Her story itself is a journey." -
Publisher's Weekly
"Revel in the woods as a magical place for play and exploration.
Discover the forest in all its mysterious glory with this book." -
Learning Magazine
"The sensory pleasures of the woods are on display in "A Walk in
the Forest," a quietly beautiful book written and illustrated by
Maria Dek." - The New York Times Book Review
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