A Lullaby of Summer Things (2024)

A day at the beach comes to an end and a family heads for home. As three children put away their beach toys and towels, the youngest girl is reminded of her day at the beach: "And you remember the beach that day/the sea so cool/the waves at play." Each usual evening activity - the kids taking a bath, the family eating dinners, getting ready for bed, good night kisses - elicits new memories of an idyllic day gone by. But there is the promise of more beach days to come as the story ends showing the sleeping house by the water as "Ocean breezes sigh/your favorite summer lullaby." Told in rhyming couplets, the vivid language with lots of visual and sound words really evokes the happy, carefree days of summertime at the beach that are reflected in the animated, playful gouache and digital illustrations. This makes a great bedtime book whether or not your young readers are at the beach, or just have their own good memories.

A sweet, gentle celebration of a fun summer's day.

I felt so relaxed at the end of this book -- a quietly rhyming story about going to bed while remembering a fun family day at the beach. Parents are different races without it being mentioned. Illustrations by Madeline Valentine were "done in gouache and digitally composed." Could be used to show that the end of things (bedtime) doesn't mean you lose them (memories) -- similar to "Tell Me the Day Backwards."

"A screen door sings / a lullaby of summer things."

A lovely goodbye / love letter for summertime. I tend to not like books that rhyme or use rhythmic language, though I do understand their importance for lingual development. This one does so beautifully, with lovely illustrations. Though my playtime kiddos insisted the dog was too small to be an actual dog. Ha.

Really enjoyed this, and also used it as a method for explaining to parents how sing-songy language can support early literacy skill development.

As the day winds down for bedtime, a young girl reflects on the day spent at the beach with her father, and her siblings.

I needed a calming book to read to a group of 3-5 years old to bring their heart rates down as part of a preschool science experiment using stethoscopes. My preferred book, “Breathe” by Scott Magoon was checked out so I did a quick rummage through the catalog and found this lovely rhyming title. The illustrations and text perfectly capture the feel of bedtime while on a seaside summer vacation, that embrace of family and fatigue after swimming and playing all day, the blues of twilight, and the sound of the waves crashing. It worked for my class, whose heart rates slowed down to an observable speed. For a rhyming summer storytime I might pair this with “All You Need for a Beach” by Alice Schertle or “Summer is Summer” by Phyllis Gershator. Rhyming books help children develop phonological awareness, the ability to hear and play with smaller sounds in words. This skill helps children sound out unfamiliar as they learn to read.

K-3
Genre: Easy Fiction
This book took me back to feeling like a young kid again soaking up the summer with my family. A day out at the beach and that glorious open screen door feeling. I love how the family is a mixed race family because it shows a different dynamic on the story. I also loved the part in the story where Ziarnik describes the family's bedtime routine because it allowed me to remember my own Momma getting me ready for bed. I think this book would be a good one for young readers because most of them would be able to apply the book to their own lives.

Illustrations, created in gouache and then composed digitally, feature smiling family members enjoying their time at the beach. As the day ends and everyone returns home, a little girl reflects on all the day's delights. Anyone who's spent time at the seashore or just indulged in some camping and got away from the hustle and bustle of life's hectic pace will be able to relate to her experiences and the fondness with which she regards those small but important moments of joy. And yes, having spent plenty of family vacations at the beach, I agree that there is absolutely nothing as soothing as the sound of the ocean's surf rolling in and rolling out. It always used to lull me to sleep too, and I'd beg my parents to let us leave the door to the balcony open so we could hear it while we drifted off. This picture book's text and images capture those experiences.

A Lullaby of Summer Things by Natalie Ziarnik and Madeline Valentine. PICTURE BOOK. Schwartz & Wade (Random House), 2018. $18. 9781101935521

Pre-K, EL (K-3) – ADVISABLE. MS, HS - OPTIONAL

In celebration of family vacation days at the beach – with memories of the little things that made those days so special. The dusky tinted pages add to the lullaby of evening activities as everyone prepares for bed.

Parents who grew up with this kind of summer experience will definitely want to buy it for their children. It skillfully evokes the sounds and smells and feels of a day at the beach. It would be a great way to talk to students about engaging all of the senses in their writing.

Cindy, Middle School Librarian
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...

A Lullaby of Summer Things is a poetic rhapsody of a young family on a beach holiday. The four children, Mom, Dad, and their pup are returning home for dinner, baths, and bed. Alternating pages show the family’s evening activities and their reminiscences about the days’ fun at the shore. The family is happy, loving, and appreciative. Everyone in the family participates in putting away wet towels, sand toys, and other beach gear.

Unfortunately, the text doesn’t work. The rhymes are lazy, failing to advance the story. Word choices are generic, even boring: “Spots run and hide. A closet opens wide.” “A seashell roars. A puppy snores.” There’s nothing terrible or offensive about this book. It’s just generic.

This could be part of a beach story time, but there are many other, more interesting titles.

Do you love going to the beach? Is it hard to get your little ones to leave at days end? After a big day of fun in the sun at the beach, one little girl and her family arrive home just in time to see the lights in their neighborhood begin to blink. The little girl and her siblings shed wet towels and change from swim suits to pajamas just in time for dinner. She plays a quick game of hide and seek with her pet pup. It’s time for all to sleep but first a listen to a seashell brought home from the beach to remind them of a phenomenal day.

Author Natalie Ziarnik and illustrator Madeline Valentine have created a perfect calming bedtime story filled with soft shadowy images of the beach and home life. Simple sentences with gentle rhyme make for a perfect read for any beginner. Parents and caregivers will love sharing this story to calm rowdy little ones.

It's hard to go to the beach and have to leave to return to the place where you stay, but this book by Natalie Ziarnik helps the little ones remember as they prepare for bedtime. The rhyming text feels like a lullaby as the "song" goes: "And you remember the beach that day--/the sea so cool/the waves at play/A clock chimes eight./Dad shuts the gate." and on. A family remembers and greets the evening in Madeline Valentine's watercolor illustrations, happy and detailed, just right for a gentle bedtime read!

In a multicultural family, a day at the beach ends with night time rituals at home recalling the day and preparing for night. Ziarnik uses poetic rhyming couplets to present the narrative making it easier to read by self and with someone else. A great bedtime book for summer time evenings for home that might work in some preliminary classroom collections.

A lyrical, sparse text story about a family leaving the beach where they have spent the day. At their house/beach cottage then the evening rituals begin and with three preschoolers and a baby it is a lively wind down to the day. The illustrations depict well all the the small nuances of preparing children for bed.
Very reassuring especially to parents😊

Cute book but something about the way the words were laid out seemed to miss a beat. I am not sure if the rhyming was intentional or unintentional. It seemed out of sequence. The family is heading in for the night but each are remembering the day at the beach. Love the idea but not sure if I found the execution satisfactory.

The perfect book for pre-school age children on vacation on the ocean or the Great Lakes! I would’ve loved this for our boys summer vacations when they struggled to sleep in strange beds, to remind them of why we come every year to the sea or the lake while keeping our bed time routine and helping them adjust to a new place to sleep.

Genre: Contemporary Realistic Fiction
Grade Range: Pre K - 2nd

This was a cute book. I love that the main character was a little girl of color. It was neat how the book rhymed and I liked how the little girl kept on returning to the memory of the beach. This would be a great book to incorporate into the classroom to portray diversity.

This is a cozy book. It has cozy illustrations with warm colors but at the same time are cool to the eye. It has cozy words that tell a memory. The best part is the family is "not traditional" and are a biracial family. However, it is not "in your face" as it is "just there" as "normal."

The simple joys of a vacation at the beach.

multicultural family (dad seems white, mom seems black, kids could be both or blended family. great for summer storytime or lullaby storytime.

Beautiful story and beautiful pictures

This is the right book for somebody, but it's too soft and slow for me. Which means it did its lullaby job perfectly. I just... don't care?

I didn’t feel the style of the art was a very good match to the text.

There's a wistfulness to the story. It's about a few children who are remembering their day at the beach as they wind down their day.

Wonderful illustrations!

As she gets ready for bed, everything reminds her of the day at the beach. Sometimes the rhyme and the story line seem forced.

I loved this love letter to things of summer. Amazin!

Recalling the day at bedtime was part of our bedtime routine too and I always loved hearing what stuck out as important "events" that were remembered hours later.

This is a very sweet poetic picture book about a family who is staying at a beach house and some of the fun things that happen. I think this one would make a good mentor text for writing poetry.

"... Ocean breezes sigh your favorite summer lullaby."
Yes, that is my favorite lullaby, no matter the time of year! I truly loved this book and enjoyed sharing it with the children.