Summer Song

Married team Henkes and Dronzek (When Spring Comes) complete their seasonal quartet with an homage to summer. Henkes explores the pleasures of the senses with dreamy, childlike lines: “In the shade it can be cool, or when you play with the hose.” The season is rich in sounds: singing birds and electric fans, blowing grasses and clamoring insects. Overall, Henkes muses, “Summer is a green song”; his thought is accompanied by a painting of a frog whose lily pad resting place, the blossoms nearby, the pond water beneath them, and the willow above are all shades of jewel-like green. “If you slow down and think about it,” song and feeling can blend together: “It’s warm/ And then hot/ and then hotter.” And sometimes the boundaries between sound and sight blur, as when an inclusive child group finds fireflies at night: “They’re singing to each other without a sound.” Dronzek’s bold black outlines and simple features give her figures a cozy, toylike look, while Henkes’s simple, evocative words encourage readers to look and listen for layered wonder in summer’s freedom. Ages 4–8. (Apr.)