It's been a pretty hot summer for most of us so far, and it's only half over, so the real dog days of summer still loom. What better way to cool off than spending some time reading a few favorite summer related books at the beach, or the park, the lake, or even inside at home or the library. My young readers and I like to read in one of the many New York Public Libraries, which are also cooling centers for people who don't have their own AC. We cooled off while we read some good books and even made some new friends.
Camp Tiger by Susan Choi,
illustrated by John Rocco
2019, G.P. Putnam's Sons BFYR, 40 pages
At the end of summer, just before beginning first grade, a young boy, our unnamed narrator, his older brother and their parents go on their annual camping trip in a beautiful, remote area. It's clear our narrator doesn't want to go on to first grade, kindergarten was so much better because it was so familiar and comfortable. While setting up camp, a tiger suddenly steps out of the woods. It's not a great big tiger, only about the size of a German shepherd, but the boy isn't afraid. The tiger asks him if there's an extra tent to sleep in, and while the family sets it us, the tiger grooms itself. That night our narrator curls up and sleeps with the tiger. The tiger stays all weekend, hiking and fishing with the family. On the last night, boy and tiger take a canoe and go star gazing together on the lake, and to his surprise, the boy is about to finally steer the canoe. It is a weekend of growth for the young narrator, and by the end of the story, he is ready to face first grade and the unknown, even as he quietly bonds with his brother. The end of the weekend marks transitions - summer into fall, dependence into independence, fear into courage. This is such a lovely coming-of-age story. The language is so lyrical and John Rocco's watercolor and wash-pencil are just stunning, some even breathtaking. Sometimes an imaginary friend is just what a kid needs to help them over the hard stuff.
Summer by Cao Wenxuan,
illustrated by Yu Rong
2019, Imprint, 48 pages
It's a pretty hot day on the parched grasslands and the seven animals living there are desperate to find some shade under which to cool off just a little. Suddenly, a jackal spots a tree in the distance and he, along with an elephant, a rhino, a brown bear, a leopard, a lynx, and a mouse race to find relief in the shade of that tree. And even though the tree is barely alive and has few leaves in the hot summer, all the animals fight over who reached the tree first. Because of his size, greedy elephant wins the fight, but as the angry animals creep away, they all start to laugh. There is no shade under the elephant's tree, so no one really gets to cool off. When a boy and his father walk by, the animals stop laughing and notice how the boy walks in the shadow of his father to keep cool. Yu Rong has cleverly depicted how the animals provide shade for each other, and as they stand over each other in size place, the pages go from 3 1/2 inches and the lynx shading the mouse to 10 inches and the elephant shading them all. The animals are all rewarded for learning to share and showing kindness towards one another in the form of a big gray cloud that cools them all off. Cao Wenxuan is quickly becoming one of our favorite writers. He is genius at telling a story in such melodious language that his fables are fun and so easy to enjoy that the moral is just received as if through osmosis. Artist Yu Rong's cut paper and pencil illustrations really capture the hot grasslands with a big yellow beating down, and making her whimsical animals so uncomfortable. This is a story that is sure to be read again and again.
Hum and Swish
written and illustrated by Matt Myers
2019, Neal Porter Books, 40 pages
On a warm, breezy, sunny summer day, humming while the waves swish, Jaime begins to build something right near the ocean's edge. "What are you making there?" asks a couple walking by with a dog. "I don't know," Jaime says. As she works, more people pass her by - an older man, a lady, a little boy, two tween girls in bikinis, her dad bringing her more sunscreen, her mom bringing her a juice box - all receive the same vague answer when looking at what she is working on and asking about it. Finally, along come a lady, with easel, paints, and canvas. She sets it up and begins working while Jaime watches. "What are you making?" Jaime asks. "I don't know yet." the lady answers. Satisfied, Jaime and the lady quietly work side by side until both decide they are finished with their projects. And what these two artists create is the surprise ending, sure to make you at least smile. With just one line of simple text on each page, Myers' lets his beautifully detailed acrylic and oil painted illustrations tell most of the story. The sea is done in a palette ranging from deep blue to white, so realistic you can almost feel and smell the ebb and flow of the ocean's waves, while the beach is rendered in a palette of golds, browns and grays. I love how Myers captured the wind in Jaime's blowing hair. This is a lovely story about the importance of quiet time to play, imagine and create - for both children and adults.
Sea Glass Summer by Michelle Houts,
illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
2019, Candlewick Press, 32 pages
Thomas is spending a summer at his grandmother's island cottage. One morning, she gives him a magnifying glass that had been his grandfathers, and pretty soon, Thomas is looking at all the shoreline has to offer through it. When his grandmother shows him a beautiful piece of glass, worn smooth by the sea, Thomas then begins to collect pieces of sea glass that appeal to him. His grandfather had believed every piece of sea glass had a story and Thomas begins to dream what their stories might have been. Night after night, he dreams a new story for each new piece of glass, until his visit was over and it was time to head home. When the ferry suddenly lurches in the trip to the mainland, Thomas drops his grandfather's magnifying glass on the boat's deck and it shatters into pieces, which he than throws into the sea. Years later, a young girl named Annie finds a bit of sea glass along the shore, and brings it to show her Paw Paw Tom, who thinks it looks strangely familiar. "Just imagine what tale this glass could tell," he says to her and she does, that very night. Guess what her dream is about. There is something very satisfying about this story and how Houts connects past and present to the three generations in this book. Ibatoulline's detailed realistic watercolor illustrations depict Thomas and Annie's world in full color reminiscent of Maine's rocky shorelines, and the dream sequences in a grays and white. The story is a bit magically tinged, but will get your young readers imagining stories behind other found objects. There is an Author's Note reminding readers to recycle rather than dumping trash in the ocean. It might make for fewer pieces of sea glass, but nowadays almost everything is plastic anyway, and that is very bad for our seas.
Waiting for Chicken Smith
written and illustrated by David Mackintosh
2019, Candlewick Press, 32 pages
A young unnamed boy and his family have arrived at the beach for their summer vacation. But while the boy's younger sister Mary Ann goes off to the beach and has fun, he stays behind awaiting the arrival of his vacation friend Chicken Smith. While waiting, the boy recalls all the things Chicken Smith can do so well, and all the activities they've shared. Mary Ann keeps interrupting these memories of Chicken Smith, urging her brother to come and have some fun, but he is just too busy waiting. This year, he has brought Chicken Smith a special shell, but even though his sister collects shells, shells aren't as good as whales, and he and his friend have always gone whale watching at the lighthouse, searching for one using Chicken's binoculars. But this year things at the beach are different, and the For Rent sign where Chicken stays never comes down. Suddenly, Mary Ann is calling, "Just hurry up!" Following her to the lighthouse, they see a whale, watching it until it gets dark. Maybe summer vacation with his sister can be fun after all, even without Chicken Smith. This book does two things and does them so well. First, it tackles dealing with change and moving forward. As the young narrator notes, the beach feels different this year, and it's not just Chicken Smith's non-arrival. The boy's inability to move forward is subtly represented by his standing in from of their rental house, waiting and unable to move. His decision to finally go to the beach is his first step in moving on. Second, it addresses a problem a lot of kids have - taking a backseat to another child they've idealized. Our narrator learns he can have fun with or without Chicken. Mackintosh's stylized mix-media illustrations are perfect for putting a little distance between reader and story, and getting his carpe diem message across.
1, 2, 3, Jump! written by Lisl H. Detlefsen,
illustrated by Madeline Valentine
2019, Roaring Brook Press, 40 pages
In this picture book about that first scary swimming lesson, an off-page narrator tries to encourage a very reluctant young girl to take that first plunge. After getting suited up, the girl stands at the pool's edge with her swim class while the swim teacher begins by teach pool safety and etiquette. Then it's time to jump into the water, but our protagonist remains behind, afraid the cold water will turn her into a kidsicle, not liking the smell of the chlorine, afraid of the pool's filter - what if it's really a creature? The narrator gently explains away all these fears, while the swim teacher allows the girl time to conquer each one. So she sits at the pool's edge and practices blowing bubbles and kicking while the other kids learn to do this in the pool. What finally gets our girl to jump into the pool? Reassurance that her teachers will catch her, and the promise of trying out some flippers. Patience and humor win the day in this sweet story about overcoming fear. The playful cartoon-like pool illustrations are done in shades of chlorine blues surrounded by white tiles against the colorful bathing suits of all the swimmers, including the supportive older women doing water aerobics. Pair this with Jabari Jumps by Gaia Cornwall and Saturday is Swimming Day by Hyewom Yum for a nice collection of learning to swim/conquering fear books.
Summer Days and Nights
written and illustrated by Wong Herbert Yee
2012, Henry Holt and Co., 32 pages
It's a warm summer day, and as the sun lights up her room, a young girl gets up, gets dressed, takes her butterfly net and sets off to explore the day. Creeping through a meadow of daisies, sitting under an oak tree, drinking lemonade to cool off, she wonders what else can keep her cool on a hot summer day. How about an afternoon splash in her backyard pool, watching the insects busy in the flowers. Late in the evening, there is a picnic in the park with mom and dad. A game of hide and seek with dad, and a visit to the playground, followed by dinner on a blanket in the grass, Back home, it's too hot to sleep, so she and dad go exploring the world at night - finding a tiny mouse, a hooting owl, a shiny moon, lots of fireflies, and even a croaking frog. It's been a busy summer day, but now it's time to sleep. This is a sweet book, told in gentle rhyme. The soft focus illustrations are done in Pismacolors and in a palette of summery pastels, and rhyme and images really invoke a summer day. If this young girl looks familiar to your young readers, it's because we've met her before in Who Likes Rain? and Tracks in the Snow. These three books are real favorites with my young readers.
Blackout
written and illustrated by John Rocco
2011, Disney-Hyperion, 40 pages
This has always been one of my favorite summertime books and I love sharing it with young readers. Set in the shadow of the Brooklyn Bridge, it's "a normal summer night." It's loud and it's hot and inside one apartment, a family is busy doing their own solitary thing and no one has any inclination to play a game with the young boy in this family of four. So he heads upstairs with his dog and plays a video game. I love the picture of Thomas Edison giving side-eye as the kid plays his solitary game. It's like he's thinking "this isn't what I had in mind for electricity." Ironically, in the next image, the lights suddenly go out - all over the city. With nothing working, the family is thrown together, and decide to go up to the roof to cool off. And to their surprise, there were people having a blackout block party up there, under a sky full of stars. Downstairs on the street, the same thing is happening - the fire hydrant is turned by the FDNY, there is free ice cream and people are enjoying each others company. The young boy and his family sit on the stoop, eating ice cream, and enjoying each other's company. Blackouts don't always bring out the best in people, but in this blackout, in this neighborhood, it certainly does. But then, just as suddenly as they went off, the light come back on. Is this then end of family time? Not if our young protagonist has his way, and it turns out to be a simple matter of turning off the lights. The language in the story is simple and extraordinarily sparse, relying on the illustrations to really carry the events along. And the rich, full color illustrations are done in good-sized graphic novel panels, ranging from small to full page images. This is an important book that reminds us to sometimes put down our devices, and enjoy each others company.
What are your favorite summer book and where do you like to read them?
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