Summer's Call

May 1, 2022
An homage to summer in Michigan. Two little children wake up one morning and, along with their parents, spend the day outside reveling in the summer's day by one of Michigan's lakes. Hellewell has created a nostalgic, rose-tinted narrative enhanced by illustrations that harken back to the idealized childhood world of Tasha Tudor's picture books (which the illustrations very much resemble, with cute children, adults who look like taller versions of the children, and copious homey details). The use of second-person narration ("The summer sun rises / and kisses you awake") suggests less a child's perspective and more that of an adult's fond look back. The narrative lacks tension as the children swim, daydream, roast marshmallows, and look at fireflies. Powers' atmospheric illustrations underscore this misty-eyed nostalgia, and the overall effect is one of undiluted romanticism. The protagonists, as well as the majority of other illustrated characters, are White; a few characters have brown skin and black hair. Backmatter with instructions on how to make a mobile to capture summer memories will spark the imaginations of creative readers. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Narratively bland but pretty to look at. (Picture book. 4-7)

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