Renée Watson’s SUMMER IS HERE get a Kirkus starred review

Newbery Honor–winning author Watson offers an ode to the pleasures of a summer day.

Sun streams through an open window as a young Black child awakens. “No dark clouds in the sky,” the protagonist declares; “it’s a perfect day for play.” First, the child devours an overflowing bowl of strawberries, blackberries, and mangoes until “I’m full, full, full.” Over the course of the day, the child swims with a diverse group of friends in a backyard pool, joins a game of double Dutch, and savors the delicious smells emanating from the sizzling grill during a family picnic at a lakeside park. The young narrator enjoys sweet treats from the ice cream truck and blows bubbles with friends as the sun sets. Back at home, the protagonist reflects on the day with gratitude and gazes up at a star: “I wish summer would stay.” Watson’s verse exudes a sense of perpetual motion as the protagonist wrings maximal delight out of the day. The author’s deft use of personification will charm readers: Summer “tiptoes into my room,” “brings me gardens, overflowing,” and “sings me a song, serenading me from the ice-cream truck.” The protagonist’s affection for family and friends is evident in Jackson’s opalescent, realistic digital illustrations, which brim with detail and portray many different body types among children and adults alike.

An utterly immersive celebration of the boundless joys of summer—may they never end!