A stream narrates its own natural history as it flows from its headwaters in the mountains to its mouth in the lowlands, introducing the plants and animals that line its banks and live in its waters. The poetic story, combining lyricism with natural history excellence, is augmented and enriched by informative sidebars and backmatter. Birds, mammals, amphibians, and insects peek out from the beautiful, scientifically accurate illustrations.

Kimberly Ridley is a science writer and children’s book author living on the coast of Maine. Her picture books The Secret Pool (Tilbury House, 2013) and The Secret Bay (Tilbury House, 2015) have earned multiple awards, including two Riverby Awards for Outstanding Natural History Books for Young People from the John Burroughs Association. The Secret Stream is Kim’s third guided tour of the wetland habitats that are critical to life on Earth. See more at kimberlyridley.org.

Megan Elizabeth Baratta is a children’s book illustrator living in central New York with her husband and two cats. She loves rendering scenes of ordinary life and showing their quiet beauty, as in her picture book Most Days (Tilbury House, 2021). Her illustrations for I Begin with Spring: The Life and Seasons of Henry David Thoreau (Tilbury House, 2022) were praised as “glorious” in a starred review from School Library Journal. Visit her at barattastudio.com.

Secret Stream, The