Summer Song

Description

"A vibrant and sophisticated ode to nature."-Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "A wonderful read-aloud."-School Library Journal (starred review) From Caldecott Medal and Newbery Honor winner Kevin Henkes and acclaimed painter Laura Dronzek, the bestselling and award-winning creators of Winter Is Here, When Spring Comes, and In the Middle of Fall, this book about summer celebrates the sights, sounds, and smells of the season. Bees buzz, birds sing, and children roll in the grass and feel the heat of the summer sun. With striking verbal imagery, repetition, and alliteration, Kevin Henkes introduces basic concepts of language and the summer season. Laura Dronzek's glowing paintings beautifully illustrate the wonders of summer. In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, When Spring Comes, and Summer Song make for a beautiful quartet of seasonal-themed picture books to share at home or in the classroom. Ideal for introducing the season, for story time, and for bedtime reading.

Kevin Henkes is the author and illustrator of more than fifty critically acclaimed and award-winning picture books, beginning readers, and novels. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon in 2005, and Waiting won a Caldecott Honor and Geisel Honor in 2016. Kevin Henkes is also the creator of a number of picture books featuring his mouse characters, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Lilly's Big Day and Wemberly Worried, the Caldecott Honor Book Owen, and the beloved Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. His most recent mouse character, Penny, was introduced in Penny and Her Song; her story continued in Penny and Her Doll and Penny and Her Marble (a Geisel Honor Book). Bruce Handy, in a New York Times Book Review piece about A Good Day, wrote, "It should be said: Kevin Henkes is a genius." Kevin Henkes received two Newbery Honors for novels-one for The Year of Billy Miller, and the other for Olive's Ocean. Also among his fiction for older readers are the novels Junonia, Bird Lake Moon, The Birthday Room, and Sun & Spoon. Kevin Henkes has been published by Greenwillow Books since the release of his first book, All Alone, in 1981. His fiftieth book, the picture book Egg, was published in January 2017. Most recently, he is the author of In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, Summer Song, A Parade of Elephants, Sweeping Up the Heart, and Penny and Her Sled. He lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin. www.kevinhenkes.com. Laura Dronzek is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally. Her picture books include the acclaimed Birds, by Kevin Henkes; Oh!, by Kevin Henkes; White Is for Blueberry, by George Shannon; Tippy-Toe Chick, Go!, by George Shannon; Moonlight, by Helen V. Griffith; It Is Night, by Phyllis Rowand; and, most recently, When Spring Comes, by Kevin Henkes. She lives with her family in Madison, Wisconsin.

"Henkes and Dronzek evoke the sights, sounds, and joys of summer, completing their celebratory seasonal quartet . . . [Summer Song] captures the magic of childhood summers, when colors are a song and a backyard can sing the wonders of the world." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "[A] conclusion to the seasonal quartet from the award-winning duo celebrates summer at last, reveling in its endless delights of green songs. . . . A luscious finale." - Booklist (starred review) "The creators of Winter Is Here, When Spring Comes, and In The Middle of Fall, are back with the final installment of the seasons series. A lyrical text pairs perfectly with bright illustrations in this wonderful read-aloud. . . . For storytime or sharing one on one." - School Library Journal (starred review) "Henkes celebrates the glories of summer . . . [Summer Song is] a sensory feast." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review) "Henkes and Dronzek complete their seasonal quartet with an homage to summer. Henkes explores the pleasures of the senses . . . Encourage[s] readers to look and listen for layered wonder in summer's freedom." - Publishers Weekly "Henkes and Dronzek complete their seasonal quartet with a joyful ode celebrating summer . . . Melodic and evocative, this book captures the essence of summer and its unique seasonal song." - Horn Book Magazine "Henkes and Dronzek make the sounds of summer-the lawn mowers, the sprinklers, the birds and the crickets-so vibrant we almost hear colors. Summer has never hummed so brightly. . . . Follow four diverse friends as they lie in meadows, chase fireflies, walk their dogs and look for frogs." - New York Times Book Review