The great-granddaughter of Mother Nature teams up with a squirrel to start the spring season in this first book in the charmingly whimsical chapter book series from bestselling and award-winning author Suzanne Selfors. Willow has agreed to house-sit while her grandmother, Mother Nature, is on vacation. Willow thinks it’s going to be as easy as watering a fern and feeding a cat, but when she arrives, she realizes her grandmother has left a long to-do list of difficult tasks like dusting the wings of a sleeping bat family, repairing the broken windows of a rabbit’s greenhouse, and ending winter. Ending winter? In her eagerness to take a vacation, Mother Nature forgot to catch the unruly North Wind for its long nap. So, even though it’s the first day of spring, the entire land is covered in ice and snow. If the snow doesn’t melt, allowing the spring grass to grow, the critters of the Quiet Woods will surely go hungry. With the help of Sam Squirrel and an elk prince named Errol, will Willow be able to catch the unruly North Wind to preserve the natural balance her grandmother entrusted her with? "Selfors populates her enchanting woodland setting with kindly anthropomorphized animals; children will eagerly cheer on the earnest, uncertain Sam, who initially seems like an unlikely hero but readily rises to the occasion." ― -- Kirkus Reviews Suzanne Selfors is a bestselling author who lives on an island in the Pacific Northwest where rain falls like music and slugs frolic beneath ferns. She has a husband who works as a pilot, two grown-up kids, a rescue cat who was found living in a hole in a wall, and a nutty corgi named Fiona. Ramona Kaulitzki has always spent her days doing something creative, from sewing to photography, but her biggest passion has always been drawing and storytelling. She is the illustrator of many picture books, including Bravo, Little Bird! by Annie Silvestro, The Christmas Owl by Gideon Sterer and Ellen Kalish, and the #1 New York Times bestseller Sisters First by Jenna Bush Hager and Barbara Pierce Bush. Born and raised in a small city in Germany, Ramona enjoys riding horses. Her love for animals, and for nature, is a major inspiration for her work. Her illustrations are created digitally, but she also enjoys drawing and painting with traditional media. Visit her at RamonaKaulitzkiArt.com. 1 Mother Nature Takes a Walk             Sam Squirrel and his brothers, Simon and Soot, were sitting at the breakfast table waiting for their acorn porridge when a voice called from outside their window. “Hello up there. Toodle-doo!”   It wasn’t the squeaky voice of Mr. Chipmunk, who lived in the tree next door. And it wasn’t the shrill voice of Lady Robin, who nested three branches above the Squirrel family. This voice was gentle, like a breeze.   “Who could that be?” Sam asked. He was the youngest of the three squirrel kits, and by far the most curious.   “Is it a badger?” Simon asked. “I bet I could wrestle a badger.” He was the oldest of the kits, and by far the largest.   “IS IT A FROG?” Soot asked. Soot was the middle kit, and by far the loudest. “IF I KISS THE FROG, WILL IT TURN INTO A PRINCE?”   Because they were still very young, Sam and his brothers had spent most of their first winter sleeping in their nest, so they hadn’t met many other critters. But they had been told many bedtime stories. “The visitor is not a badger, so please don’t wrestle her,” Mama Squirrel said with a laugh. “And she’s not a frog, but you can give her a kiss, if you’d like, because she loves all the critters of the Quiet Woods.”       Papa Squirrel, who had been stirring the acorn porridge, took the pot off the stove and wiped his paws on his apron. “Today is the first day of spring, which is a very important day here in the Quiet Woods. And on the first day of spring, someone very special always pays us a visit.”   Both Papa Squirrel and Mama Squirrel shared a smile. Then Papa Squirrel untied his apron and plopped his cap onto his head. “Scurry outside, boys. There’s someone I want you to meet.”   Simon and Soot jumped from their chairs and leapt over the table, sending spoons and bowls flying. They hurried across the floor, raced around the sofa, jumped over a stack of books, and then followed their father outside.   Sam was curious to see who had come to visit, but he was also a bit timid. So he waited for Mama Squirrel to tie a pink bonnet onto her head. Then he followed her outside.   The Squirrels’ house was built high up in the Big Oak Tree. Spring had indeed arrived. The winter wind had given way to a gentle breeze, and the snow had melted, revealing new grass and yellow daffodils. Dew drops sparkled in the morning sun, which warmed Sam’s furry cheeks. Songbirds twittered, and a chorus of frogs practiced their singing in the nearby pond.   “Hello up there. Toodle-doo!”   From his perch on the branch, Sam peered down at the forest floor. Th