summer

When You Can Swim

Sophie Rosen , ,

Wong, Jack. When You Can Swim. New York: Orchard Books, an imprint of Scholastic Inc., 2023.
When you can swim, a whole new world opens up. Treetops drift overhead as you float on your back. Fields of reeds appear as you dive down under the water. Fish feast on insects as you tread water in the twilight. Amazing wonders, exciting adventures, all await you once you can swim. Evocative full-page illustrations help to tell this story written as poetry. Told from the second person point of view and accompanied by an afterword explaining how the author learned to overcome his fear of swimming when he came to Canada as an immigrant child, this beautiful picture book is highly recommended for readers of all ages. (P.S. Teachers will find it invaluable for showing students how to write powerfully without using the rules of punctuation.)

More stories told from the second person point of view

More stories by Canadians 

More stories in verse

Mum, Me, and the Mulberry Tree

Sophie Rosen , ,

Rosie, Tanya. Mum, Me, and the Mulberry Tree. Somerville, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press, 2022.
Early on a summer morning, a little girl sets out with her mother to pick berries. They fill their buckets with mulberries, share a picnic lunch, and come home to make a delicious pie. This cheerful rhyming picture book, set in the English countryside, is recommended for children 5 to 9 years old.

A picture book about a blackberry dessert

More rhyming picture books

Another picture book illustrated by Chuck Groenink

Summertime Sleepers

Sophie Rosen , ,

Stewart, Melissa. Summertime Sleepers: Animals that Estivate. Watertown, Massachusetts: Charlesbridge, 2021.
Some animals don’t go to sleep for the winter. Instead, they take a rest in the summer. They don’t hibernate. Instead, they estivate. Detailed illustrations in watercolor by Sarah S. Brannen accompany this informative picture book for kids up to 11 years old. Variously sized and styled fonts provide different levels of information from simple to more advanced. An extensive afterword provides additional facts and a list of sources for further research. Highly recommended for readers who enjoy factual books.

More factual books

One Summer Up North

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Owen, John. One Summer Up North. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2020.
A family of three journeys by canoe into the wilderness of northern Minnesota. The happy family enjoys camping by a lake, catching fish, and gathering berries as they explore the beauty of nature in this wordless picture book for readers 6 to 10 years old.

While looking at a wordless book, ask…
1. “What’s going on in the picture?”
2. “What do I see that makes me say that?”
3. ”What more can I find?”

More stories without words

Pendziwol, Jean E. Me and You and the Red Canoe. Toronto: Groundwood, 2017.
Early in the morning, two siblings make a fire and sit together, sipping hot chocolate. They gather their fishing gear, leave everyone else behind, and set off in a red canoe. Told in free verse and illustrated in acrylic on panel. Recommended for readers 7 to 14 years old. Useful, as well, for learning how to turn experiences into stories.  [Camping; Fishing; Summer; Canoes and canoeing] 

More stories of summer adventures

Prairie Days

Sophie Rosen ,

MacLachlan, Patricia. Prairie Days. New York, Toronto: Margaret K. McElderry Books, 2020.
Any story by Patricia MacLachlan is worth reading. Any book by Margaret K. McElderry is worth looking at. And this picture book illustrated with collages by Micha Archer is no exception. Written from the first-person point of view, it is a wonderfully exuberant celebration of long-ago summers on the American prairies. An excellent read-aloud for family gatherings, sure to start more stories of long ago memories. Highly recommended for everyone who loves country life.

More country life stories

Stories based on real life 

Picture books with collages

First-person point of view

P.S. A little clue to MacLachlan’s brilliance: When she talks about the farm horses – Lyddie, Blue, and Joe – she doesn’t say ‘that’ we used to ride. She uses the pronoun ‘who’ instead. Because those horses aren’t objects. They are alive. They are loved.

The Summer We Found the Baby

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Hest, Amy. The Summer We Found the Baby. Somerville, Massachussets: Candlewick Press, 2020.
Eleven-year-old Julie and her six-year-old sister Martha find a baby on the steps of the local library. Twelve-year-old Bruno, running away from home, sees them take the baby and wonders: Are they kidnapping it? Where are they going? He follows and so starts this quiet heart-warming story set in a beachside community in New York State during WW2. Told in three voices, this poignant novel – in an easy-to-read font with widely spaced lines and short chapters – will appeal to reflective readers 9 to 12 years old. 

By the way, all stories by Amy Hest are worth reading, especially for readers up to 12 years of age. All books by Candlewick are worth picking up.

More stories of WW2 

More stories told in alternating voices 

More stories set in New York State 

More stories of summer

A Fine Dessert

Sophie Rosen , , ,

Jenkins, Emily. A Fine Dessert: Four Centuries, Four Families, One Delicious Treat. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books, 2015.

A sweet story about one of the oldest desserts in Western culture: a fruit fool made of berries, sugar, and whipped cream. The first dessert is made of wild blackberries in 16th century England, the second in 18th century South Carolina, the third in 19th century Massachusetts, and the last in modern California. A recipe, a bibliography and historical information on both the story and the illustrations are included at the end. An excellent introduction to learning how cultures reflect their times and change over time. Recommended for readers – and their teachers – 7 years old and up.

More historical fiction

More picture books with a repetitive pattern