FICTION

Summer’s Child

by James Christopher Carroll (text) & illus. by James Christopher Carroll
Creative Editions. Mar. 2025. 16p. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781568464077.
COPY ISBN
Gr 2-4–The third installment in Carroll’s seasonal quartet opens in a forest, where a bear directs a playful summer production. Various animals and natural elements take on roles until a child steps forward, offering to tell the story of summer. The tale unfolds with a cloud threatening the bright summer day—until a pony, balancing an ice cream cone, dashes across a rainbow to save it. Carroll’s soft, whimsical artwork enhances the dreamlike atmosphere, featuring a purple-haired child and a checkered pants–wearing Bear. Unlike Sister Spring and Mother Winter, which personify the seasons, this book takes a more abstract approach, relying on the child’s storytelling to represent summer—though the connection feels somewhat loose.
VERDICT Best suited for collections where the first two books are already popular.
Reviewed by Heidi Dechief , Mar 28, 2025

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