When Autumn Comes

A photograph that shows a father and son trudging seawards down a sandy road under a lowering sky is accompanied by practical, straightforward advice: ``When summer ends and autumn comes, / it's time to put on sweaters and long pants.'' Thus begins this cozy and evocative photo essay, replete with the many familiar colors and activities of the fall season. Sparkling as the autumn air, Maass's pictures show busy people and animals readying for the winter months--leaves are raked ``to make great jumping-into piles,'' cider is pressed, winter garments removed from storage. In one of the book's many stirring images, a chimney sweep, poised in his solitary domain against a crystalline sky, ``brushes away soot / inside the chimney / so fires will burn well.'' The spare text suits the season perfectly, and Maass's carefully chosen subjects go about their chores seemingly unaware of the camera's eye. Now if only this idyllic town had been identified, readers would know the perfect autumnal retreat. Ages 5-8. (Sept.)