THE CABIN

In this picture book, two siblings remember a special summer on a mountain family farm.

This gentle tale of a bygone summer of adventure, freedom, and loss will resonate with children and may give adults a sense of melancholic nostalgia. Surrounded by “endless blankets of hayfields,” a sister and brother face an ordinary summer at their grandparents’ farm on Hog’s Back Mountain during the 1960s. Then the “hippies” come, three quiet, long-haired young people who build a cabin to live “solely on what our mountain would provide.” It is an unexpected story inspired by Vander Ark’s childhood, as the hippies, in the words of narrator Cynthia, become “part of our landscape…the warp and weave and rhythm of our daily lives.” The siblings drink hot chocolate on the cabin porch, give their friends wildflowers and berries, and fall asleep listening to stories of “dragons and magical lands.” (Bigatti’s evocative full-page illustrations—watercolor on textured paper—of the white siblings, their diverse circle, and nature complement the engaging tale’s emotional tone.) The next summer, in the aftermath of the hippies’ departure, Cynthia and her brother experience loss along with discoveries. The author (whose first children’s book, Old Bess, 2023, was also set on a family farm) includes a useful illustrated glossary and, for adults, her thoughts on exploring “the ashes of each loss…to linger a while in the dust” and “discover surprising treasures.” Readers also get Macrina Wiederkehr’s poem “The Sacrament of Letting Go.”

An unusual and enjoyable memory piece with painterly illustrations.