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Friday was Hazel's last school day!! So we have begun our summer vacation!! Today I am going to share some books with you that are prefect for summer!! So if you are looking for some summertime fun reading check these books out. The first book is And Then Comes Summer by Tom Brenner and illustrated by Jaime Kim.
Quick what reminds you of summer? Is it the bumblebees buzzing by or the sound of lawn mowers? Perhaps it is wearing your flip-flops and hearing the ice cream truck. Well whatever it is those memories are packed into this book. It shares the excitement of school ending and getting into the careless summer mood of long stretched out days filled with fun. It is perfect for anyone just finishing school and even the adults who like to reminisce.
The illustrations bring the fun of summer to mind as well as the words. Whether it is going off to the lake or beach or watching the fireworks for Independence Day. So what are you doing this summer?
I love that this is a multicultural book. The people in the illustrations have various skin tones. The illustrations are clear and detailed. The words are just how I can see it happening too. The boy trying to be brave and sound brave but getting scared at the last minute. It is all in there. There are important lessons as well as summer fun at the pool.
Our next book takes us to the beach and shares the fears of the water there. The book is There Might Be Lobsters by Carolyn Crimi and illustrated by Laurel Molk. Sukie is a small dog who is a bit afraid of the beach. She has her faithful girl, Eleanor, and her stuffed monkey by her side as she is forced to face them. She worries about walking down to the sand of the beach, but Eleanor carries her and her monkey down. Next she is afraid of playing with the beach ball and then going into the water, but when a wave carries off her stuffed monkey, she knows she has to save him and overcomes her fears.
This is such a sweet story with the focus being on the small dog's fears instead of the girls. It also shows overcoming those fears. And I have to admit I remember being afraid of things in the ocean when I was young. What does it take to overcome your fears?
Our next book takes us to a lake. It is Hattie & Hudson by Chris Van Dusen. Hattie spends her summers on the lake. Each day she takes out her small canoe to explore on the water. One day she comes face to face with a lake monster. The monster seems friendly to Hattie, but not to the other boaters around them. Hattie goes out that night to find the monster again. She names him Hudson and they play together. The next day there is a meeting about getting rid of the monster, and Hattie does not know what to do. She knows she has to save her friend. She and Hudson get together that night and come up with a plan. Hattie shows the lake community that Hudson is friendly and does not need to go away. This book shares the strength of friendship and sticking up for others.
I love that Hudson is so big but so friendly and nice. He is as scared of the people and boats as the people are scared of him at first. I also love that is the children who accept the monster first. First it is Hattie and then when she demonstrates how friendly and helpful he is, the kids come up to touch him before the adults. It is really a sweet story with beautiful illustrations.
Our final book is more about summer for me because it has to do with Cape Cod. My parents live on Cape Cod in what was my grandparents house. This is where I spent many a school vacation, so this historical book is a book about summer for me. It is The Whydah: A Pirate Ship Feared, Wrecked & Found by Martin W. Sandler. This book shares the history of The Whydah and Captain Sam Bellamy. Sam Bellamy is said to have lived on Cape Cod before becoming a pirate. There are many stories about him having fallen in love on the Cape but not being acceptable to her parents so he went off to find his riches. He became well known and feared in his time. He eventually takes the slave ship, The Whydah Gally. Captain Bellamy changes his plans and has his crew head towards Cape Cod instead of around it and a storm comes. Bellamy knows the sea of the Cape is dangerous and has one of the other pirates on another captured ship take the lead. This other pirate had been forced by Bellamy to join and decided to make sure he would get his freedom by shipwrecking the Whydah.
This book gives history of Bellamy, the ship and some of the various adventures as well as what happened after the shipwreck--only two of the survivors were not hung as pirates and more. I honestly was not sure Hazel would like this book, but since it was about Cape Cod we tried it and she LOVES it. She is constantly asking me to read The Whydah and to read more. This book also shares a bit about pirates and why men (and a few women) would become pirates. I found the entire book so interesting and full of information I never knew. I can honestly say it is very eye opening. My next thing I want to do is go to the Whydah Pirate Museum. Hazel is not so sure about the museum. I think it might scare her a bit.
So if you are looking for some books to kick off summer, a vacation or learn about pirates I can recommend these great books!!
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