  | Full Text Reviews: School Library Journal - 03/01/2017 PreS-Gr 2—With this sunny celebration of the season, readers will find themselves eagerly anticipating June. Brenner and Kim have created a nostalgia-inducing suburban setting whose cheerful residents are treated to an endless stream of fireworks, games of hide-and-seek, Fourth of July parades, and trips to the lake. As in his previous titles (And Then Comes Halloween; And Then Comes Christmas), Brenner relies on a "Then…when" structure ("When the days stretch out like a slow yawn,/and leaves and grasses sparkle with dew/…. Then throw on flip-flops and breathe the sweet air") for another ode to a beloved time of the year. Featuring evocative, concrete images—"bugs as big as thumbs bang against windows"—the lyrical verse captures all the exuberance and simplicity of a childhood summer. Kim's illustrations, rendered in acrylic paint with digital tools, depict a rosy-cheeked, diverse array of children as they gleefully sell lemonade, cycle down the street, and indulge in ice cream. Buoyant and infused with energy, these picturesque images call to mind an idyllic time and place without electronics or screens and where kids are free to roam with minimal supervision. VERDICT An enchanting purchase for most library collections, especially those seeking additional seasonal materials.—Mahnaz Dar, School Library Journal - Copyright 2017 Publishers Weekly, Library Journal and/or School Library Journal used with permission. Booklist - 04/01/2017 When school is out and the sprinklers are on, when every day is luxurious like a weekend and the family hops in the car for a road trip to the lake house, when lemonade stands and ice-cream trucks pop up on every street and sleeping bags are unfurled in tents, then you know it must be summertime. Using the same gorgeous language and when/then repetitive structure he used in And Then Comes Halloween (2009) and And Then Comes Christmas (2014), Brenner has created a languid, poetic, joyful tribute to the hotter and stickier months. The language is stunning in its descriptiveness—“when daylight pushes back bedtimes, / and crickets crick-crick in the evening air, / and bugs as big as thumbs bang against windows”—and Kim’s artwork is steeped in sunshine. The overall effect is a celebration of playing outdoors in front yards with bare feet on those special, cherished days that “stretch out like a slow yawn.” - Copyright 2017 Booklist. Loading...
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