Summer Song
“… summer is green. Green on green on green. Summer is a green song.” It’s a song of leaves, trees, weeds, and grass that can “sound like music” if that grass is tall and the wind is blowing. Other summer things sound like music too: air conditioners and fans, sprinklers and lawn mowers, birds and rain and thunder and bugs. And other colors sing in summer—gray (fog), blue (water and sky). “But the green song is still there.” Eventually the days begin to shorten and the song begins to change, “turning / turning / turning … it’s turning into Fall.” There is such delight and appreciation in this accounting of the sights, sounds, and feel of the season—a sense of the expansiveness and bounty of the natural world, and days that feel wide open and endless. Four diverse children are shown in vibrant full-page and cozy spot illustrations that, along with the text, foreshadow fall’s arrival in the final pages. The transition feels bittersweet, as it often does in real life. Luckily, children and families can turn to the three previously published companion volumes from this author/illustrator duo offering equally observant, playful, appreciative, and surprising accounts of the other seasons. ©2020 Cooperative Children’s Book Center
Illustrated by Laura Dronzek
Wisconsin author
Kevin Henkes grew up in Racine. He attended UW-Madison and lives in Madison.
Wisconsin illustrator
Laura Dronzek was raised in Deerfield, Illinois. She received both her BA (1982) and MFA (1993) from UW-Madison. She lives in Madison.
CCBC Age Recommendation: Ages 3-7
Age Range:
Babies/Toddlers (birth – 3)
PreK-Early Elementary (Ages 4-7)
Format:
Picture book
Subjects:
Observation
Seasons
Senses
Publishers:
Greenwillow, HarperCollins
Publish Year: 2020
Pages: 32
ISBN: 9780062866134
CCBC Location: Picture Book, Henkes