Now I See . . . board book series

Written by Mac Barnett

Illustrated by Jon Klassen

Tundra Books

24 pp.

Ages 2–5

April 2026 

 

There are only 35 words in the four board books in Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's new series, Now I See. That's because each book has the same 35 words, in the same order, and describing almost the same things. What changes is what is happening to the people and places over the four different seasons, and that is communicated with the dramatic and yet straightforward artwork of Jon Klassen.

 

The four books are as follows:

 

Now I See Spring

978-1-77488-673-1

Now I See Summer

978-1-77488-677-9

 

 

 

 

Now I See Fall

978-1-77488-665-6

 

 

 

Now I See Winter

978-1-77488-669-4

 

 

 

 

In each book, a double-page spread focuses on an illustration of one element and then its identification. They are the house; the tree; the garden; me (shadow of a child on the side of a house); some birds; a treat (that's nice and sweet); the farm; the sky; the wise old cat; something red; and the perfect hat. The final text is a declaration that, "it's my favorite time of the year." But, in each book, each element is a little different. The tree might be leafing out in Now I See Spring, fully green in summer, losing its red leaves in the fall, and bare in the winter. Each season brings something different in where we live, what we wear, what we like to eat, and what we see. And they are all true.

From Now I See Spring, written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen collaborate to produce extraordinary books. There's their Caldecott Honor books Extra Yarn (2012) and Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (2014)—Jon Klassen won the Caldecott Medal for his own This Is Not My Hat (2012)—and their Shape trilogy of Triangle (2017), Square (2018) and Circle (2019). The Now I See books equal these earlier books in their verve, teaching an important concept without instruction. They teach by helping children make observations and connect to that which they experience in their own lives. And, by reading all four books together, children will see how the seasons change and their reading of simple words, repeated in each book, will be reinforced.

From Now I See Winter, written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Mac Barnett gets the text right by keeping the words simple—mostly articles and nouns—and giving them rhythm, though not necessarily rhyme. The text has a quiet pep to it, carrying the reader from one scene to another. And Jon Klassen's watercolour and digital art is the ideal medium for giving a lot in an unambiguous way. His lines and shapes give us the seasons with their distinctions, emphasizing both colour and shape to the familiar and perhaps less familiar. 

From Now I See Summer, written by Mac Barnett, illustrated by Jon Klassen

Exceptional concept books are those that do more than teach. They delight with their words, they charm with their artwork, and they engage readers by inviting them to be part of the story. Mac Barnett and Jon Klassen's Now I See series is fresh in its exceptionality.