A Summer Day

In a beguiling companion to last season's A Winter Day, Florian has again created a spare yet resonate mix of text and illustration. The book opens with a brilliant yellow sun rising over a city block. A family awakens early, breakfasts and sets off on a trip to the countryside. They take a dip in a swimming hole and go fishing at a small pond. After watching a rosy sunset behind a rounded hilltop, they drive back to the city. Stopping at a city park, the three children catch fireflies before they all return home under starry skies. Florian's clear line drawings, shaded with soft colored pencil and watercolor, are perfect foils for the brief, almost poetic text. This is an evocative mood piece that perfectly captures the essence of a summer day. Ages 3-5. (April)