Summer's Vacation
PreSchool-Grade 2-Plourde and Couch's quartet of picture books personifying the seasons comes full circle with this exuberant celebration of summer. Enthusiastic and full of energy, young Summer spends her time swimming, building sand castles, picking berries, and camping in the cool forest. Under the watchful eye of Mother Earth and Father Time, the youngster rushes from one activity to another. The two admonish her not to neglect her chores but she is having too much fun to stop her frolicking. It is not until she pauses on a mountaintop that she realizes what her negligence has done-the Earth is dry and brown. Promising to work around the clock, Summer sprinkles water until the rivers flow and the animals begin to stir. Rendered in acrylic paint and colored pencils on museum board, the illustrations glow with the shimmering heat of a sultry day and the coolness of a summer's evening. The yellows, greens, and blues match the energetic tone of the rhyming verses. This title continues the New Age approach evident in this team's other season books: Mother Earth is camouflaged as part of the topography and Summer's short golden hair looks like sun rays around her head. Children familiar with the earlier titles will welcome Summer and her infectious love of warm, carefree days.Wendy Woodfill, Hennepin County Library, Minnetonka, MNCopyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.