Deines's shimmery illustrations are an ideal match for Hundal's poetic text. Hundal appeals to the senses as she calls up vivid memories of summer trips to relatives far from her city home. . . Brian Deines' impressionistic paintings glow with gold tones that suggest an idealized though never sentimental vision of the past. The nostalgic message of belonging to a simpler way of life is very appealing. But the language supporting the story is quietly thrilling. . .
Children deserve to read language handled expertly in such a tingling way.
It is so descriptive and accurate . . . Brian Deines has created wondrous illustrations that perfectly capture the mood and the tone of a prairie summer. . . This is what prairie stories can be and we should read them to remind us that there is nothing as special as the place we call home. He even has a very realistic picture of a boy swatting a mosquito on his neck. This book may be aimed at city cousins, but it will probably find its real place with the grandparents, aunts and uncles who have left the farm behind.