It’s early August.  It will be hot, the hummingbirds are looking for fresh sugar-water and the geraniums are drooping.  Those are not backpacks and school supply ads in the paper, you do not hear a chorus of late summer crickets in the evenings. Just sit back, gather the kids, pick up one of these picture books and relive June…

Flashlight by Lizi Boyd.   c2014 Chronicle Books

Non-readers can peruse this  wordless book at bedtime.  A child goes out to explore a summer night by flashlight.  Many nocturnal creatures and activities are revealed in the bright beam of light.   Children will enjoy the action when the animals turn the flashlight beam back on the explorer. There is so much going on in each picture, many return viewings will be needed.

Stars by Mary Lyn Ray and Marla Frazee.  c2011 Beach Lane Books/Simon and Schuster

This large format picture book suits the topic.  Stars can be found everywhere if you know where to look.  Tiny star flowers turn into strawberries, gold, silver, and blue stars show up on tooth-brushing charts.  Sheriffs wear a star, and a special paper star can be kept in a pocket. Sometimes you can’t see the stars, but they are always there.  Take your star-gazers out and search for shooting star showers this month.  The Perseid Meteor Showers peak August 12-13.  An eclipse is not the only astronomical wonder on the horizon.

King Jack and the Dragon by Peter Bently,  illustrated by Helen Oxenbury   c2011 Dial Books for Young Readers.

Friends Jack, Zach, and baby Caspar have built a fort in the backyard.   All day long they have defended it from dragons and other fierce beasts, but as the trio settle down to spend the night, some friendly giants seem to be getting the upper hand.

The Moon Jumpers by Janice May Udry with illustrations by Maurice Sendak.  c1959

This Caldecott Honor book is the perfect evocation of a summer evening and the games that develop spontaneously among children allowed to play outside after dark. “We climb the tree just to be in a tree at night. And we make a little camp and pretend we’re on an island for the night.  We make up songs, and poems, and we turn somersaults all over the grass.”  The parents can be seen reading in the house as the children play, and eventually Mother calls the children in to retire in a room where “The bed is white and cool and the pillow as soft as the night.”   Playing outside after dinner in the summer is better than Disneyland.

At Night by Jonathan Bean  c2007  Farrar Straus & Giroux

In a city apartment, a little girl can’t sleep. She can hear everyone else in the family peacefully breathing. A breeze from the window invites her to carry pillows and bedding to the rooftop.  Finally, surrounded by drying laundry and tomato plants, the girl drifts off to sleep.  In the last picture we see the bathrobe-clad mother sitting beside her daughter with a steaming cup in her hand.  The illustrations show details of family life, parents looking in to whisper goodnight to children, views of other rooftops and gardens, and the moon looking down over all.  This is a sweet, cozy bedtime book.

Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco

When thunder rolls in at Grandmother’s farm, a girl becomes anxious.  Grandmother gets the child busy gathering things to make a genuine “Thunder Cake” with eggs from the chickens, milk from the cow, flour and sugar from the dry shed, and a secret ingredient from the garden.  While the storm comes closer, the cake is in the oven and the little girl has learned that a good way to dispel fear is to get to work.  This story is based on the author’s childhood in the Midwest.

Mud Pies and Other Recipes  by Marjorie Winslow  c1961  A New York Review of Books Children’s Book.  Illustrations by Erik Blegvad

From the introduction: “This is a cookbook for dolls. It is written for kind climates and summertime. It is an outdoor cookbook, because dolls dote on mud, when properly prepared.  They love the crunch of pine needle and the sweet feel of seaweed on the tongue. The market place, then, will be a forest or a sand dune or your own backyard.”

This cookbook suggests many delectable doll meals, from wood chip dip to pine needle upside-down cake.  Doll chefs are reminded not to taste for seasoning.  Master of detail, Erik Blegvad provides the illustrations for this treasure.  Bon Appetit!

The Fairy House Handbook  by Liza Gardner Walsh. c2012 Down East Books

Another reason to get outside to gather natural materials and make stuff.  The first tiny houses were built to shelter fairies.  This book is brimming with photographs and suggestions that will inspire young builders.  The fairies are waiting for new homes lovingly furnished, get out there and get creating.