These outdoorsy books introduce a wide range of summertime activities, from tree house building to riding a bike to the always favorite ice cream truck stop.
Cycle City
By Alison Farrell; Chronicle Books; 32 pages; $17.99
All sorts of bikes and riders are preparing for Cycle City’s Starlight Parade, Hippo’s camper bike, Polar Bear’s gelato bike, Owl’s bookmobile bike and even Frog’s amphibious contraption.
But first, preparations need to occur, and Mayor Small has to deliver invitations to everyone. This is not so easy, because every page scene is jam-packed with the many animal citizens zipping about on bikes as they go about their busy day. From Cycle Circus School, to a crowded park of food bikes, to downtown and the river, bridges, canals and shopping districts, the mayor has to search for the invitees — with readers’ help, of course.
Finally, the elaborately decorated participants are ready and Cycle City beams with active happiness. Alison Farrell’s whimsical, busy pages give kids lots and lots to search for and gaze upon.
For another busy bike book, check out Joukje Akveld and Philip Hopman’s Get on Your Bike (published by Eerdmans Books), an energetic, oversized picture book tale of two friends in a spat made better by biking.
Everything You Need for a Treehouse
By Carter Higgins and Emily Hughes; Chronicle; 34 pages; $17.99
With retro softly colored illustrations that remind me a bit of Maurice Sendak’s work, Everything You Need for a Treehouse is an ode to treehouses and begins with two children looking up “and imagining a home of timber and rafters in wrangled, gnarled bark.”
Incredibly imaginative and cool, Carter Higgins and Emily Hughes invite kids to picture several types of treehouses and describe what’s needed creatively — “you’ll need a swing or maybe a rope, some twisted twine of spun sugar and sap, a way to climb and sprawl out on a limb and slide back down again.”
Numerous children of all colors nap and read books and play pirate and make shadows in these make-believe and gorgeously fun up-high homes. Kudos to the creators for concocting a lovely book certain to provoke imagination and wonder.
The Little Ice Cream Truck
By Margery Cuyler; illustrated by Bob Kolar; Henry Holt; 28 pages; $14.99
The “Little Vehicles” series includes boldly colorful near-board books (with slick and sturdy pages perfect for preschoolers) and rhyming, simple text. The Little Ice Cream Truck extols the well-loved virtues of ice cream trucks.
Here they are heading to the zoo. With a friendly driver named Lou and treats like Berry Crunch, Lemon Ice and Cookie Munch, this polka-dotted vehicle also visits baseball games, birthday parties and the park.
A safety page also reminds readers: “I’m a little ice cream truck with signs on front and rear: CAUTION! CHILDREN CROSSING! LOOK BOTH WAYS! STAY CLEAR!”
A super fun ode to a summertime classic, The Little Ice Cream Truck is cool and refreshing.
Stories in a Seashell
By Alex Nogués Otero; illustrated by Silvia Cabestany; StarBerry Books/Kane Press; 32 pages; $16.99
When a little boy named Max ventures to the beach in Stories in a Seashell, he discovers a large shell and holds it to his ear “to see if it was true that one could hear the sea inside.” He quickly hears it all perfectly — the waves, the seagulls, even pirates rescuing a stranded sailor. Then a mermaid hears the sailor’s shouts. Fishermen watch her and nearly miss a thundering storm. Max hears the calls of puffins. A submarine sea captain hears the sound of a whale and, through his periscope, spots a boy on a beach with a shell to his ear.
A magical journey of how one things leads to another and how many intriguing things there are to see and hear at sea, Alex Nogués Otero’s salty little tale is exquisitely penned and illustrated. It’s a sea-going must!
Take a Hike, Miles and Spike!
By Travis Foster and Ethan Long; Chronicle Books; 32 pages; $16.99
Summertime is perfect for hiking and hilarious phrases, as the funny picture book, Take a Hike, Miles and Spike!, proves. When dogs Miles and Spike take a hike, they bid adieu to others, saying, “Ta-ta for now, Cow! Cheerio, Crow!” and “Smell you soon, Raccoon! Peace Out, Rainbow Trout!” The pair packs so many supplies they can’t walk. They admit they “acted dumb, Chum,” so they try again. Then they “Vamoose, Moose” and invite others to “Join the fun, Everyone!”
Cartoon illustrations make Take a Hike, Miles and Spike! a quick summery read.
— Lee Littlewood writes the Kids’ Home Library column for Creators. The San Diego wife and mom’s pure love of children’s literature helps her stay interested in words and pictures meant for tots to teens. Click here to contact her, or click here to read previous columns. The opinions expressed are her own.