Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
Now It Is Summer
Illustrator: Mary Newell DePalma
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 7
Eerdmans Books for Young Readers, 2011 ISBN: 978-0802853400
A young mouse wonders if it will be autumn soon. When will autumn “dapple the air with apple-y scent?” When will he make his Halloween costume, and when will be able to “choose my pumpkin from the farmer’s patch?”
The impatient mouse’s mother tells him that autumn will come soon enough. Right now, it is summer. It is time to enjoy all the things that come with long warm days and “shimmery” nights that twinkle with the lights of dancing fireflies. She encourages him to appreciate the “sweet” smell of cut grass, to savor the taste of a fresh peach. She tells him to enjoy days at the beach that require “flip flops and beach robes and ice pops from the freezer.”
With a beautifully lyrical text that captures the smells, tastes, sounds, and experiences of summer, this picture book will gently remind children to enjoy the here and now. There is nothing wrong with looking forward to what is to come, but it would be a shame to miss all the wonderful things that are happening today.
