SUMMER NORTH COMING

A full-color experience of the seasons in Canada’s north.

In Bentley’s poetic text, the smell of “fragrant muskeg rose” and the climbing sun welcome readers to the north’s summer. In the accompanying illustration, readers notice two brown-skinned children paddling a rowboat in a pond. As the story continues, these same children take part in other activities as well: berry picking, swimming, playing in the rain, and staying up late. Soon summer fades, and outdoor labors shift to fish drying and food storing. With “summer north waving” goodbye, the children spend the longer evenings indoors with three characters assumed to be family: darker-skinned mother and grandmother and their lighter-skinned father. When winter finally arrives, the piles of snow offer their own unique moments of fun—outside and indoors—with a multicultural cast of friends and their families. Although strongly visual phrases, such as “stained hands” (from “summer pick berries”) and “trees flaming yellow,” combine with equally bold phrases that appeal to the other senses to create a lyrical celebration of life in all its cycles, readers desiring a plot-driven tale or one rich in character development will notice their absences. Additionally, while Bartram’s texture-creating techniques enhance muted, earthy-toned illustrations, providing the depth and nuance found in nature, an overall lack of cultural specifics (beaded leather footwear is a notable exception) gives the double-page spreads an emotional flatness.

For nature lovers or those seeking season-relevant meditations for classroom reflection and discussion.