July

A regular New Yorker cartoonist, Stevenson is as expressive with words as he is with a paintbrush. Here, whimsical watercolors and a text studded with appealing period details recreate a summer of 50 years ago, when the narrator visited his grandparents at the seashore. Traveling back in time, readers meet Grandpa, who dressed in knickers and played croquet; Grandma, who left a door unlocked every night ``in case anybody needs to get in''; and Mrs. Bartlett, who delivered the mail, driving her car ``on both sides of the road and, sometimes, down the middle.'' The boy and his friends participate in the summer pastimes of which memories are made: skipping stones, watching waves during a storm, toasting marshmallows and riding in a speedboat. Stevenson adds the right amounts of nostalgia and humor to his timeless story; readers of all ages will treasure this book--all year round. Ages 5-up. (Apr.)