Come Next Season

“Come summer,/ we’ll visit the lake./ When we spot a sparkle through the trees,/ we’ll race to the rope, bellowing/ ‘Cannonbaaall!’ ” Readers follow a child’s joyful leap to splash into this loping evocation of specific seasonal joys, among them gathering pecans, sledding, and getting a puppy from a farm. Norman’s text follows two siblings through the turning seasons, evoking a fantasy of rural childhood in a four-season climate, where in summer, “it will be our job to shuck the corn for supper./ We’ll eat outside, smacking mosquitoes/ between buttery bites,” and in winter, “sorting puzzles on the carpet,/ we’ll look up when a TV voice says,/ ‘Snow tomorrow!’ ” Miyares’s bright illustrations combine washes of vibrant color with earnest details: overalls and ball caps, red barns and rag rugs, pecan trees and tire swings. The story offers well-established seasonal repertoire in a skillful, appealing presentation. Ages 3–6. [em](Sept.) [/em]