THE LOVELY SUMMER
by Marc Simont & illustrated by Marc Simont
A favorite illustrator (a Caldecott medalist who in 1990 reillustrated Many Moons, to wide acclaim) depicts a summer's depredations on a garden from a rabbit family's point of view: While they timidly hang back, the burly woodchuck bulls his way into the trap set for them; thereafter, they happily enjoy the vegetables, oblivious to the gardener's distress—they even mistake a parting shake of a fist at summer's end for a friendly wave. Though the rabbits' one-sided misinterpretations are consistently amusing, Simont's lovely illustrations are the strength here. In sure, wondrously economical style, his flowing watercolors catch the garden's gentle greens and soft light, with just a few deft lines defining the ever-ingenuous bunnies. A treat. (Picture book. 4-8)