Being present for a young child. Love the illustrations. A very thoughtful book. ( )

The reader is addressed as the main character in this reflective picture book. In the author's note, Julia Denos mentions that "Here and Now" simply strives toward getting readers to notice, sort of like meditation. It makes one aware of surroundings by showing not telling. In a way this picture book portrays that everyone and everything are so small and simple, yet so significant. ( )

A second book from the team that created Windows, with the same beauty and quiet contemplation.

SLJ Day of Dialog ( )

Author Julia Denos and illustrator E.B. Goodale, who previously collaborated on the picture-book Windows, join forces again in this lovely exploration of mindfulness, and being in the here and now. As the reader holds the book, the narrator informs them that any number of other things - phones ringing, a baby growing, an idea blooming - are also going on. At any given moment, the reader/listener themselves is "becoming," and that's a wonderful thing...

Inspired by a poem that Denos wrote as part of her meditation process, Here and Now is meant, according to the brief author's afterword, to encourage the reader and listener to slow down and notice the world around them. The simple but expressive text is paired with lovely mixed media artwork, created using ink, watercolor, monoprinting and digital collage. I don't know that this one really had the same appeal for me, that Windows did, but it is nevertheless a sweet and gentle look at being aware of the world around us. I would recommend it to anyone seeking picture-books meant to encourage mindfulness. ( )

From Kirkus Reviews, www.kirkusreviews.com, "Following Windows (2017), Denos and Goodale reteam to offer a guided meditation through reading.

The inviting cover shows a little black child touching the reflection in a stream as creatures fly about and the moon rises behind into a starlit sky. The first spread is white space with two pairs of hands positioned as if holding the book. “Right here, right now, / you are reading this book.” The simple text continues to bring awareness to the present moment: the placement of the book, the position of the reader’s body, the floor and Earth beneath us, the spinning of the Earth in space. Next, the reader is invited to imagine how “many, many things are happening” while they read this book—rain is forming, a phone somewhere is ringing, an “idea is blooming.” Finally, the text circles back to the reader: “Right here, right now, / YOU are becoming.” The ink and watercolor images complement the text beautifully, with close-ups and panoramic views shifting to cozy vignettes, all emphasizing the focus on emotional connection between characters. The illustration accompanying “Unseen work is being done” shows two people, the black child from the cover and an Asian-presenting older figure, embracing in the field. These characters, followed intermittently throughout, are reading their own copy of Here and Now, which allows several opportunities for playfulness in the pictures, which tell their own story.

Readers will find themselves returning for a thoughtful moment again and again. (author’s note) (Picture book. 3-12)"