One warm summer night, a frog jumped into Lucy's room with an invitation for her to a birthday party and a magic paper party hat. Lucy put it on, and out in the garden, when a moonbeam touched the hat, Lucy was as little as a leaf. So begins Lucy's wonderful adventure.
A taxi driven by Baby Bird, who is afraid to fly, picks Lucy up to take her to the party. On the way, they stop for Madame Mouse, wearing a brand new hat she's made; an inch-worm determined to get to the party in time to have some birthday cake; and a tiny tattered old doll whose owner, for whom he still longs, had lost him in the shadows of moonlight long ago. But suddenly, a huge owl blocks their way -- and he wants them all for his supper! Will they escape? Will they get to the party? Will the tiny doll ever be reunited with his beloved owner?
In a lovely, lyrical text, the story unfolds to its happy ending. The magical pictures, painted with intricate detail and subtle colors, bring the moonlit garden world to life. This is an extraordinary book of great beauty and vivid imagination that small children and adults will look at again and again, discovering new wonders and surprises as they look. It is a treasure by the widely known and loved author/artist of The Maggie B.
Irene Haas is an outstanding artist who has written and illustrated a number of children's books, including The Maggie B., Little Moon Theater, and A Summertime Song, which Horn Book called "a sumptuous production." Ms. Haas lives in New York City.
The Washington Post A picture book for all seasons.
Kirkus Reviews An opulent book that sports sumptuous watercolors, a lively tempo, and clever energy...Haas touches the story with rhyme here and there, infuses it with hope and old-fashioned enchantment, and loads the artwork with details that continue to reveal themselves upon additional readings.
Publishers Weekly An oversize, square format right away announces that his book is special, and the contents live up to the heightened expectations...Haas wraps [her story] up in gorgeous illustrations whose sumptuous imagery and sultry compositions virtually define romance and mystery...The art is spellbindingly lavish...A treasure of images, this is a book to savor.
The New York Times Book Review This is an old-fashioned, lavish, and child-friendly storybook. The format is large, the paper is creamy, and Ms. Haas's gorgeous and fully developed watercolor paintings are delicate and filled with curious details that a child can ponder during the day as well as at bedtime... A Summertime Song is gentle, sweet, and intimate...This is a song with a happy, perfect resolution...Don't we need one magic night of perfect resolution, a dance in a circle where everyone holds hands? Such is the graceful dance done to A Summertime Song.
The Washington Post Irene Haas's latest work may be called A Summertime Song, but it is a picture book for all seasons...I can think of no more sumptuous effort in the history of American picture books...Here is a lush, oversized volume with generous, cream-colored pages and the heady fragrance of old printer's ink. It looks and smells like a classic...Haas has captured that early moment in one's life when the whole world is full of wonders, just before the Wild Things set in...Savor A Summertime Song.
Margaret K. McElderry Books
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
0.38" H x 11.2" L x 12.28" W
32 pages
Hardcover