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Summer
During a hot summer day in the grasslands, a group of animals race to claim the single spot of shade--under one tiny leaf that clings to a branch. The animals fight until they are inspired by an act of love to offer shade to one another.
42 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2015
1 person is currently reading
60 people want to read
About the author
Cao Wenxuan
295 books48 followersCao Wenxuan, author of the acclaimed Bronze and Sunflower, is the recipient of the 2016 Hans Christian Andersen Award. He has also won several of China’s important awards for children’s literature. A professor of Chinese literature at Peking University, Cao Wenxuan has seen many of his books become bestsellers in China, and his work has been translated into French, Russian, German, Japanese, and Korean.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews
May 6, 2019
This was a beautifully illustrated book about 7 animals learning how to share. The perfect summer story for kids. 🙂
February 14, 2021
One hot summer's day, a group of animals quarrel with one another about who is entitled to the shade of the one tree in the area. When the smaller creatures, who had been evicted by the larger and more powerful elephant, see that the tree has no foliage, and can therefore offer no relief, they laugh at the elephant. But then all of the animals see a human father and child walking by, the child entirely in his parent's shadow. Inspired, each animal offers shade to a companion smaller than himself, until everyone but the elephant has some refuge from the hot sun. Fortunately for the elephant, a cloud happens by, offering him relief as well...
Originally published in China in 2015, as 夏天, this picture-book meditation on the importance of sharing and mutual aid is from the pen of prolific children's author Cao Wenxuan, and features the artwork of illustrator Rong Yu. The design is quite interesting, featuring a section of pages, in the middle of the book, that are of different lengths. This section corresponds to the part of the story where the animals begin to offer shade to one another, from smallest to largest, and the length of the page reflects this, moving from narrowest to longest, as the story progresses. This kind of book design is similar to that in Cao Wenxuan's Feather , which also featured pages of different length, but here it feels as if the design is working with the story. The artwork itself is sweet, with cute animals characters, and a lovely color palette. My only word of criticism for the book is that although it appears to be set on the African savannah, it features animals from all over the world, that would not normally appear together. Leaving that aside - and as the book is more a meditation on the theme of sharing and helping others, I don't know that it really should be read as a naturalistic animal story - I recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for engaging and beautifully-illustrated summer stories, or tales about selfish vs. unselfish behavior.
Originally published in China in 2015, as 夏天, this picture-book meditation on the importance of sharing and mutual aid is from the pen of prolific children's author Cao Wenxuan, and features the artwork of illustrator Rong Yu. The design is quite interesting, featuring a section of pages, in the middle of the book, that are of different lengths. This section corresponds to the part of the story where the animals begin to offer shade to one another, from smallest to largest, and the length of the page reflects this, moving from narrowest to longest, as the story progresses. This kind of book design is similar to that in Cao Wenxuan's Feather , which also featured pages of different length, but here it feels as if the design is working with the story. The artwork itself is sweet, with cute animals characters, and a lovely color palette. My only word of criticism for the book is that although it appears to be set on the African savannah, it features animals from all over the world, that would not normally appear together. Leaving that aside - and as the book is more a meditation on the theme of sharing and helping others, I don't know that it really should be read as a naturalistic animal story - I recommend this one to picture-book readers looking for engaging and beautifully-illustrated summer stories, or tales about selfish vs. unselfish behavior.
June 15, 2019
A little uneven, but there is some inventiveness with the page layouts, and the message of cooperation and caring is kind of sweet.
August 14, 2019
It's a pretty hot day on the parched grasslands and the seven animals living there are desperate to find some shade under which to cool off just a little. Suddenly, a jackal spots a tree in the distance and he, along with an elephant, a rhino, a brown bear, a leopard, a lynx, and a mouse race to find relief in the shade of that tree. And even though the tree is barely alive and has few leaves in the hot summer, all the animals fight over who reached the tree first. Because of his size, greedy elephant wins the fight, but as the angry animals creep away, they all start to laugh. There is no shade under the elephant's tree, so no one really gets to cool off. When a boy and his father walk by, the animals stop laughing and notice how the boy walks in the shadow of his father to keep cool. Yu Rong has cleverly depicted how the animals provide shade for each other, and as they stand over each other in size place, the pages go from 3 1/2 inches and the lynx shading the mouse to 10 inches and the elephant shading them all. The animals are all rewarded for learning to share and showing kindness towards one another in the form of a big gray cloud that cools them all off. Cao Wenxuan is quickly becoming one of our favorite writers. He is genius at telling a story in such melodious language that his fables are fun and so easy to enjoy that the moral is just received as if through osmosis. Artist Yu Rong's cut paper and pencil illustrations really capture the hot grasslands with a big yellow beating down, and making her whimsical animals so uncomfortable. This is a story that is sure to be read again and again.
November 19, 2020
O metoda deosebita de descriere a traseului parcurs in numele alegerii, a cautarii adevarului, a unei evidente mai putin subiectiva si mai lipsita de egoism, dar si o alegorie delicata facuta intre protectorii nostri, indiferent din care mediu pot veni (fie cel familial, amical, colegial sau oricare altul) cu cea a luminii (Soarele) si umbrei (influentele/amintirile). Nu ne ramane decat sa gasim si noi o cale cat mai accesibila copiilor de a spune si descifra povestea, in dependenta de varsta pe care o au.
June 7, 2020
3,5
Terrific idea. I'm jealous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y0sp...
Terrific idea. I'm jealous.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Y0sp...
July 8, 2020
Summer: Animals Share in a Poetic Tale of Kindness by Cao Wenxuan, illustrated by Yu Rong. PICTURE BOOK. Imprint. $19. 9781250310064
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K. EL (K-3)- ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
"In summer, the grasslands are parched. the animals seek shelter from the sun, their trampling feet stirring up a thick cloud of dust. Tree! the sharp-eyed jackal shrieks." All animals dash off to be the first to arrive at the tree and enjoy some shade. After fighting for the shade the animals see a father and son walking across the dry grassland together. The father's shadow completely covers the little boy and offers him relief from the head. Touched by the scene before them, one by one the animals invite a smaller animal to enjoy the shade created by their size. Just as the elephant joins the group with no one to offer shade for his size a cloud appears and stays to give the animals relief from the summer heat. "In summer, all the friends cool off in the shade. TOGETHER.
Summer: Animals Share in a Poetic Tale of Kindness is an insightful tale of love and kindness. The illustrations are soft and inviting. The text is emotional and heartwarming. Summer animals go from one extreme to the other when they begin their day fighting and arguing for the relief of shade to sharing their shade with their friends in a unique way. We enjoyed the final pages as they grow shorter and then longer as the animals become selfless and show acts of kindness. Summer: Animals Share in a Poetic Tale of Kindness would be a great addition to a unit on seasons or for teaching about emotions and manners.
Reviewer: SL
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
BUYING ADVISORY: Pre-K. EL (K-3)- ADVISABLE
AUDIENCE APPEAL: HIGH
"In summer, the grasslands are parched. the animals seek shelter from the sun, their trampling feet stirring up a thick cloud of dust. Tree! the sharp-eyed jackal shrieks." All animals dash off to be the first to arrive at the tree and enjoy some shade. After fighting for the shade the animals see a father and son walking across the dry grassland together. The father's shadow completely covers the little boy and offers him relief from the head. Touched by the scene before them, one by one the animals invite a smaller animal to enjoy the shade created by their size. Just as the elephant joins the group with no one to offer shade for his size a cloud appears and stays to give the animals relief from the summer heat. "In summer, all the friends cool off in the shade. TOGETHER.
Summer: Animals Share in a Poetic Tale of Kindness is an insightful tale of love and kindness. The illustrations are soft and inviting. The text is emotional and heartwarming. Summer animals go from one extreme to the other when they begin their day fighting and arguing for the relief of shade to sharing their shade with their friends in a unique way. We enjoyed the final pages as they grow shorter and then longer as the animals become selfless and show acts of kindness. Summer: Animals Share in a Poetic Tale of Kindness would be a great addition to a unit on seasons or for teaching about emotions and manners.
Reviewer: SL
https://kissthebookjr.blogspot.com/20...
June 20, 2019
I liked the general story and message of this book, but I kept getting distracted by the strange combination of animals featured in the story. It appears to take place on an African grassland, so what are the lynx and the bear doing in the story? The illustrations are great, especially the characters' expressions and the illustrator's color choices. (For some reason, I'm okay with a purple rhino but not with a lynx sharing a habitat with a rhino. I don't have a good explanation for this; it's just how I feel.)
May 24, 2019
Fun animal story, but I was baffled by a few pages sprinkled through that seemed to interrupt the flow rather than help it along.
November 30, 2019
This one is a 3.5, and I really liked the illustrations, created with cut paper and pencil, and how the book has been designed so that the ever-lengthening shadow(s) cast by each animal is visible. This makes the animals' decision to share their space and shade even more apparent and meaningful. Summers are hot, even for animals, and when one of them spots a tree and the possibility of some respite from that heat, they compete for it, often nudging the littlest one, a field mouse, away. They fight and behave rudely to each other, which is rather silly since the tree is also thirsty and provides little respite. Everything changes, though, when the animals see a father and his son walking along with the son in the father's shadow, protecting him from the heat and sun. Each one decides to provide shade for one of the smaller animals, and all seven of them are sheltered, to some extent. After a beetle joins them, a cloud appears in the sky, and the animals enjoy the coolness it brings. Although I wasn't quite sure what made the cloud arrive and stay over the animals, I guessed that it had something to do with their generosity to one another and perhaps was Mother Nature's way of rewarding them for their consideration of others. This picture book might be useful when teaching youngsters about kindness and being willing to share with others. After all, it's the little things and the small gestures that matter and can make a difference in someone's life.
June 22, 2019
This was a very sweet book about sharing and enjoying the company of friends rather than suffering in isolation because you're too proud to help.It's a hot, dusty day on the savanna and all the animals are desperate for some shade. They are willing to fight each other to get their own relief from the sun, even if it means leaving the others out in the sun. None of them find any relief and there's a sense of schadenfreude among them in knowing that if they're miserable, at least the others are too. But then they see a man and a boy walk by, the boy totally covered by the man's shade. The man has nothing to hold the sun away from him, but at least the boy is a little cooler because of the man's care. One by one, the animals line up, providing relief to those smaller than themselves. Not even the large elephant is left out because a wandering cloud that decides to park over the animals provides enough shade for all of them.
The artwork of this book is absolutely beautiful. Yu Rong used cut paper and pencil to craft the book, which means each page includes eye-catching blocks of bold color. Not every page includes a fully colored background, but those that do are absolutely stunning.
The artwork of this book is absolutely beautiful. Yu Rong used cut paper and pencil to craft the book, which means each page includes eye-catching blocks of bold color. Not every page includes a fully colored background, but those that do are absolutely stunning.
November 7, 2021
Love this one, which I believe was originally published in Chinese and then later translated into English.
The story is pretty simple: it's a hot, hot day in summer and there's only one skinny tree with any shade, but there are a lot of hot animals who want that shade! They fight until they realize there's no point--that tree really doesn't give much shade at all. But then a man walks by holding a child's hand--and the animals notice that his shadow completely protects the child from the sun. One by one, the animals line up so that each one can offer a smaller animal some shade, even the elephant who gets no shade for himself...until a cloud finally comes by.
In addition to the pretty illustrations, the book has some excellent design choices that make the book even more fun: each animal's text is a different color, the fonts are different sizes depending on how big or small, near or far an animal is, and the middle pages in which the animals line up start thin--about three inches wide--and get wider as each larger animal gets in line until we're back to the width of a full page.
A lovely book with gentle lessons about kindness to others.
The story is pretty simple: it's a hot, hot day in summer and there's only one skinny tree with any shade, but there are a lot of hot animals who want that shade! They fight until they realize there's no point--that tree really doesn't give much shade at all. But then a man walks by holding a child's hand--and the animals notice that his shadow completely protects the child from the sun. One by one, the animals line up so that each one can offer a smaller animal some shade, even the elephant who gets no shade for himself...until a cloud finally comes by.
In addition to the pretty illustrations, the book has some excellent design choices that make the book even more fun: each animal's text is a different color, the fonts are different sizes depending on how big or small, near or far an animal is, and the middle pages in which the animals line up start thin--about three inches wide--and get wider as each larger animal gets in line until we're back to the width of a full page.
A lovely book with gentle lessons about kindness to others.
July 21, 2019
See my full review here.
When a hot summer day on in the grasslands leaves a group of animals squabbling over the only spindly tree, until they are inspired to collaborate and shade each other instead of being greedy. Cao won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s literature in 2016, the first one from China to do so. His story here is multi-layered, and I liked how he lets readers discover the solution along with the animals. Yu Rong’s penciled illustrations are a delight: the image of the fight is a swirl of sand and limbs; the creatively cut pages showing the growing group of animals in shade will fascinate young hands. Like other reviewers, I’m mystified by the mix of animals: a field mouse, a lynx, a jackal, a leopard, a brown bear, a rhino, and an elephant – is there a place in Asia where these animals share a grassland habitat? The text is also a bit difficult to read for storytime groups – this one is better as a lapsharing book, or (as I’m working on) adapted as a feltboard story.
When a hot summer day on in the grasslands leaves a group of animals squabbling over the only spindly tree, until they are inspired to collaborate and shade each other instead of being greedy. Cao won the Hans Christian Andersen Award for children’s literature in 2016, the first one from China to do so. His story here is multi-layered, and I liked how he lets readers discover the solution along with the animals. Yu Rong’s penciled illustrations are a delight: the image of the fight is a swirl of sand and limbs; the creatively cut pages showing the growing group of animals in shade will fascinate young hands. Like other reviewers, I’m mystified by the mix of animals: a field mouse, a lynx, a jackal, a leopard, a brown bear, a rhino, and an elephant – is there a place in Asia where these animals share a grassland habitat? The text is also a bit difficult to read for storytime groups – this one is better as a lapsharing book, or (as I’m working on) adapted as a feltboard story.
May 22, 2019
The next solstice is fast approaching; only thirty more days until the time between sunrise and sunset is nearly fourteen hours. With the longer amounts of daylight, temperatures will become warmer. With each subsequent year, we have seen record-breaking heat. In this heat every living thing needs shade and water.
On those days with the sun relentlessly shining and no breeze to assist in any type of cooling, a stillness settles over Earth's inhabitants. In their newest collaboration, Summer (Imprint, a part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, May 7, 2019) renowned Chinese author Cao Wenxuan and Chinese illustrator Yu Rong create an original tale happening during one of those sultry afternoons. Respite comes through observation amid controversy.
My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...
On those days with the sun relentlessly shining and no breeze to assist in any type of cooling, a stillness settles over Earth's inhabitants. In their newest collaboration, Summer (Imprint, a part of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC, May 7, 2019) renowned Chinese author Cao Wenxuan and Chinese illustrator Yu Rong create an original tale happening during one of those sultry afternoons. Respite comes through observation amid controversy.
My full recommendation: https://librariansquest.blogspot.com/...
November 4, 2018
It's a sweltering summer, and the animals are squabbling for the shade of a tree... except it's not too shady, leafless and bare. As they try to brave the heat, they observe the power a shadow can bring when a man's shields a boy from the sun. Perhaps they can work together harmoniously... I love the minimalist yet colorful & textured illustrations, and the colors of the text, emphasizing each animal's voice! A lovely read aloud story.
May 9, 2019
Overall I really like this book. There are a couple pages that are too texty that I would probably exclude if I were reading this in a storytime (you can tell it's probably an import from another country/language). But I love the message about helping each other out (all of the animals stand by each other to create shade for animals that are smaller than themselves). The illustrations are mostly colorful and kid friendly.
May 10, 2019
Summer was about safari animals that were all hot from the sun. They argued until they saw a father and son walking. The father was casting a shadow on the son, which gave the animals an idea. The idea was that if they worked together instead of arguing they could create their own shade using each other's shadows. All the animal friends did this so they each had a chance to stay cool. Anything is possible when friends work together. Reviewer 6
May 30, 2019
The story was okay, but the illustrations, although pretty, were not effective- it is all about shadows and the shadows were just big blobs that seemed to have no directional relationship to the light source. And isn't elephant still super hot because nobody is shading him? And the first spread and sentences feel like they are from a completely different book- it is a different ecosystem, there are humans, etc. This could have been really good, but falls flat. Not recommended. Ages 4-6.
June 10, 2019
This book was straight-up confusing. Why are there random people that wander in, and then out, early on in the story? Why is there a BROWN BEAR living in the middle of what seems to be an African savanna? THERE ARE NO BROWN BEARS IN AFRICA. Why does the elephant have to be the one to stand in the full sunlight and get hot while everyone else rests in the shade it creates? I have so many questions and no answers after reading this book.
August 29, 2019
It's a hot summer day in the grasslands. When the animals spot a small tree they all vie for a spot underneath it...but elephant refuses to share the shade. Then a father and son walk by and the son is walking in the father's shade. The animals line up, the small mouse being shaded by the lynx's shadow, then the lynx shaded by the jackal and so on. Helping others makes summer...or any season...better.
December 23, 2019
I got distracted by the first page spread which doesn't seem to go with the rest of the book. And then by the bear? in the grasslands.
Makes you feel a bit sorry for the elephant at the end because everyone else gets shade.
Makes you feel a bit sorry for the elephant at the end because everyone else gets shade.
May 27, 2020
If you are looking for a fable or a book published first in another country to read or to teach with, I recommend you give this book a try. It ends with "In summer, all the friends cool off in the shade together." A sweet book that delivers!
July 23, 2025
UN'OMBRA di Cao Wenxuan e Yu Rong. Un coloratissimo albo illustrato con testo in stampatello maiuscolo perfetto per parlare di generosità, cooperazione e amicizia. Da 4 anni <3 https://ilmondodichri.com/unombra/
#unombra #valentinaedizioni #stampatellomaiuscolo
#unombra #valentinaedizioni #stampatellomaiuscolo
May 16, 2019
The animals learn to work together to make their own shade from the hot summer sun.
May 28, 2019
The summer heat with no shade in sight is hard on the animals until they find a way to help each other get a little time out of the sun.
June 4, 2019
Seven friends learn how to seek share and seek shade from the summer sun in the heat of the endless grassland.
June 11, 2019
The message felt a bit heavy-handed but I still liked it. I liked the colorfulness and how the colors went with the different animals as they talked.
June 18, 2019
Unique. While story not for everyone, illustrations are strong and different. Lots going on that will resonate or not differently.
June 26, 2019
A lovely fable about cooperation and kindness. Originally published in China.
June 27, 2019
Appreciate the premise of sheltering others, but couldn't get past the bear out in the middle of the hot desert.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 46 reviews