Memorial Day is fast approaching, and with that means the beginning of summer, outdoor barbecues, and for children’s/YA librarians, summer reading program time! If you’re planning a summer-themed storytime, consider adding these books to your repertoire.
Patterned after Gertrude Stein’s famous quote from her poem, Sacred Emily (“A rose is a rose is a rose”), Summer is Summeris a joyous celebration of the ordinary things that make summer great: “A bee is a bee is a bee/a tree is a tree is a tree/Cool in the shade/Pink lemonade/Summer is summer is summer.” Dandelions blowing in the wind, fishing off a log, baseball games (“rain or shine/baseball time/summer is summer is summer”), building sandcastles, and a nighttime boardwalk create an atmosphere of a long, lazy, and carefree summer. The children will enjoy the rhythmic text and bright illustrations, while adults will undoubtedly become nostalgic about their own childhood summers.
Preschoolers and kindergartners would probably appreciate Come On, Rain! more than toddlers, I couldn’t resist not including one of my favorite summertime books. Growing up in the New Orleans area definitely makes you appreciative of a summer shower and a sweating glass of iced tea, especially when it’s been several days since rain. The young girl in this book is just dying for a rainstorm. Tess begs her mother for permission to wear her swimsuit; eventually, her mother relents, just in time for a big rainstorm. Tess and her friends romp in the rain; their spirit inspires the drained adults to rejoice in the rain. Karen Hesse’s text and Jon J. Muth’s illustrations brilliantly evokes the effect a merciless summer day can have and the sheer fun of playing in the rain. I adore this book.
Do you have any favorite summer-time themed books?
Books Mentioned:
Gershator, Phillis and David. Summer is Summer. New York: Henry Holt, 2006.
Hesse, Karen. Come On, Rain! New York: Scholastic, 1999.
Teresa Walls
I am excited to check out Summer is Summer and I too love Come On, Rain! Maybe not for toddlers, but two summer books I enjoy to share are Summertime: From Porgy and Bess by Ira Gershwin, illustrated by Mike Wimmer, and Knoxville, Tennessee by Nikki Giovanni, illustrated by Larry Johnson. I am especially fond of While You Were Chasing a Hat by Lilian Moore, illustrated by Roseanne Litzinger. It isn’t a hot summer book; it is more about those early/late summer breezy days.
Abby
One of my favorites for those hot summer days is The Pig in the Pond by Martin Waddell. Nothing like a cool dip to beat the summer heat!
thom barthelmess
One of my all-time favorite storytime books is Rose Meets Mr. Wintergarten, by Bob Graham. While it isn’t overtly summer-themed, it tells the story of the Summers family, archetypical hippies as only Mr. Graham can do them, who move in next to the crabby Mr. Wintergarten. When young Rose Summers loses a ball over Mr. Wintergarten’s imposing fence, she calls on him, and, through a simple act of kindness, reintroduces him to sunshine. It sounds a little schmaltsy, and I guess it is, but there’s lots of wry humor to cut the sweetness. And it reads aloud just beautifully.
And I have to mention a brand-new picture book, just translated into English from the original Norwegian, called Garmann’s Summer, by Stian Hole. Rather than a paean to the joys of summer, this is a quiet, poignant story about a boy’s last days before beginning first-grade, and his struggle to confront and overcome his apprehension and insecurity. There’s a real European sensibility about the book. The illustrations, collages of wallpaper samples and photos and Victorian illustrations, are enigmatic and gorgeous, all at once. And the non-linear story is authentically child-like, even as it bobs and strays about. The effect, to my mind, is magical.
Jennifer Schultz
Wonderful suggestions! Thank you so much! Thom, I will keep an eye out for Garmann’s Summer.