Come next season by Kim Norman, illustrated by Daniel Miyares

This is the kind of beautiful picture book that used to drive me nuts when I was growing up in Texas. The assumption that of course everyone lives somewhere with four seasons, trees changing color, and snow in winter drove me crazy.

So I moved to the Midwest and now I love these books. (That's not the ONLY reason I moved to Wisconsin, but it... might have played a part.)

So if you don't live somewhere with four seasons, I'd skip this book (or consider moving...) and if you do, you will naturally want lots and lots and lots of beautiful books about places with four seasons!

Miyares' bright watercolors illustrate the joy of the seasons as Norman writes a poetic tale of seasonal fun and celebration. It begins with summer, visiting the lake whose deep blue is offset by the glow of a bright red bathing suit. Two white children with brown hair eat blueberries, devour corn, and sleep in the hot summer air, waiting for the cool winds of autumn to blow in. Fall arrives with brilliant red and yellow leaves sweeping across a deep green landscape. The children don jackets, spend every moment outdoors, and collect nuts. Trees tap the window, heralding the arrival of winter. Winter is a soft blue and pink landscape, a cozy evening on a rug with a puzzle, and playing in the snow. Eventually, green shoots begin to poke through the sun, showing that spring is on its way. Spring explodes into bloom with green grass and yellow flowers, visits to the farm, and baby animals, including one very special puppy. As the children stroke their puppy, they imagine the joys of summer and the story ends with the deep blue of the lake and green of the trees and grass.

Of course, this is an idealized vision of the Midwest; although a television is shown in the background in the winter, there are no electronics. The children appear to live in an old farmhouse and share a bedroom, but they visit the lake in the summer and everything is always perfect: No cold and soggy rain in the fall, no mosquitoes in the summer, and no school! It's somewhat nostalgic, showing a family farm, old stationwagon, and a family with plenty of land - and time - for children to roam. But ultimately it's a celebration of the beauty of seasons and a love of nature, so it's not meant to be realistic. While I would like to see more images of diverse children in rural areas, and more depiction of economic struggles, this is the type of book that many of my patrons will love, giving them a break from their day-to-day schedules and a moment to reflect on the beauty of nature.

Verdict: Not for every library, but if you live somewhere with lakes and four seasons, adults will love to look back at what they remember from their childhood and it will hopefully interest children in exploring more of the natural beauty around them.

ISBN: 9780374305987; Published October 2019 by Farrar Straus & Giroux; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library