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Summer Is Summer
co-author,
David Gershator
illustrated
by Sophie Blackall
Holt,
2006
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*
Best New Books,
Scholastic Parent and Child, June/July 2006
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Art featured on the
cover of Booklist, July, 2006
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Starred review, School
Library Journal
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CCBC Choices, 2007
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| From
the
book jacket: |
A rose is a rose
And everything grows--
When summer is
summer is summer.
What is summer? For
many children summer is lemonade and salty air, baseball and ice cream,
fireflies and starry nights, and much, much more. Join four friends as
they explore the outdoor world of summer and all its sensory pleasures.
The Gershators’ evocative language and Sophie
Blackall’s imaginative pictures celebrate this fun-filled season.
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| A little
about the book: |
Says Phillis--
We wanted to write an ode to summer--and thought of
roses: “A rose is a rose is a rose,” and the rest followed. Baseball,
seashore, ice cream.... Thank you, Gertrude Stein, for the inspiration.
And thank you, Christy Ottaviano, for helping us get the words and
rhythm just right.
Says David--
It started with a rose is a rose. I think
Gertrude would be pleased with this echo of her famous rose for
children.
We both say--check out our CD
featuring Summer
Is Summer set to music!
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| From the reviews: |
“The lovely image [on the cover] sets the tone for this picture book
celebration of friends having fun in the summer.... The sophisticated
poet Gertrude Stein’s famous line, ‘A rose is a rose is a rose,’ is
quoted on the frontispiece, and her very simple words are echoed in the
book’s chanting text....The simple, joyful sounds and sunny artwork
will appeal to young listeners.” Booklist
“In this very unique picture book the authors have brought together a
collection of images and memories to create a warm, salty, sandy,
sticky, grassy portrait of a summer as seen through the eyes of
children. A minimal rhyming text with plenty of repetition give the
text a sing-song quality which makes this book perfect for reading
aloud. Watercolor paintings fill every double page spread with sharp
and often luminous color. The artist makes dramatic shifts, showing
large objects in the foreground set against wide and expansive
backgrounds. Her folkloric style perfectly captures the magical and
nostalgic feeling that runs throughout the book.” www.lookingglassreview.com
“The rhyming text is bouncy and brief and captures the exhilaration of
this time of year with its seemingly endless days and opportunities for
fun....Whimsical watercolor illustrations feature a dreamy world of
fantasy and reality, with layered perspectives and strong patterns that
undulate across the spreads.... This offering is perfect for one-on-one
sharing and for early readers, who will delight in the scenes of
summer.” School Library Journal,
starred review
"...a catalog of summer sights, sounds, and activites in a lyrical
picture book featuring trees and bees, holes and moles, logs and frogs,
clouds and crowds, and much more summer fun. Some children won't be
able to to resist coming up with their own summerry observations. A
pool is a pool is a pool perhaps? Cool is cool is cool? Sophie
Blackall's inviting illustrations picture a quartet...of children, two
white and two black." CCBC Choices
Art by
Sophie Blackall
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