Hooray for Summer!

A sudden summer thunderstorm sends the squirrel children scampering.

It’s a hot summer afternoon. Nothing is stirring. Not the frogs, not the flowers, not even the grass. Then suddenly birds are flocking overhead. Small animals are racing for shelter. The rain starts pouring down. Thunder booms. Lightning cracks and flashes. Mick, Mack, and Molly are caught in the midst of one of the most exciting moments of summer: a sudden summer thunderstorm. It can be scary, but for the three squirrel children, safe and dry in a cave, it brings new friends.

＂Mick, Mack, and Molly, three squirrel siblings introduced in Hooray for Spring! and Hooray for Snow! (both NorthSouth, 2009), get caught in a thunderstorm. They take refuge in a small cave where they meet a rabbit and two mice, also riding out the inclement weather. When the rain stops, they all run out to play together, declaring that they are the ＂Summer Storm Friends.＂ There’s really not enough interaction among the characters to show the developing friendship. Also, the title and cover art fail to hint at the main focus of the story: the storm. Cover-art issue aside, the illustrations are the best part of the book. The animals’ faces are expressive, and the colors go from bright to muted to dark as the storm approaches. Yellow highlights the dark as lightning crashes and rain streaks down the pages in white stripes. A solid addition, especially where the first two books are popular.--＂ School Library Journal

＂Three little squirrels are playing in a field when the birds warn them of a coming storm. Running homeward as the rain starts pelting down, they take shelter in a small cave, where they find two little mice also hiding. A small rabbit joins them just before the lightning and thunder begin. Huddled together, they tremble with fear until the storm lets up and the sky brightens. Outdoors again, they play together until suppertime, celebrating summer, its storms, and the ＂Summer Storm Friends＂ it creates. First published in Japan, this picture book vividly portrays the wide-eyed fear of the young animals and their sudden bonding when lightning strikes nearby. The illustrations, with their precise lines and soft colors, could convey the basic story on their own, but the words add another dimension by telling what cannot be seen, from the characters’ words to the scent of the earth after a storm. A good read-aloud choice as summer approaches.＂ - Booklist

KAZUO IWAMURA studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine arts and Music and started his career as an illustrator for children’s television programs, he lives in Mashiko, outside Tokyo, with his family.