"Once we were part of Outside and Outside was part of us," states a young white girl walking through a wooded area. "Now sometimes even when we're outside... / we're inside." The two double-page spreads accompanying this text show two perspectives of the girl riding in a car through the same wooded area. As she enters her home, she continues to talk about the ways the outside always is there, even when we're inside, with "flashes at the window" and "chirps and rustles and tap-taps on the roof." Always, the outside beckons with smells and sounds and sights. The simplicity and the rhythm of the narrative will encourage children to think of all the ways they are (or could be) aware of the outdoors, whether they're outside or inside, in this timely and timeless story. The watercolor illustrations are lush and evocative, and include lines created with dried flower stems and cotton thread soaked in ink, bring the outside right into the inside pages of the book. (Ages 3-8)