Are the animals reaching their limit in the summer heat!?
The book I read this time is "Summer is the Sea."
It is just so hot.
The animals living in the mountains are completely worn out by the heat.
The moon bear, the rabbit, the butterfly, and even the rocks are sweating.
"I can't take it anymore!"
As if running away from that heat, the moon bear calls out to everyone.
"We're going to the sea!"
The mountain animals all head toward the sea together.
And then, they finally reach the ocean.
Blue sky.
Blue sea.
The animals swim to their hearts' content, float around, and splash about.
The animals, who were limp from the heat, regain their energy all at once.
Watching them, I can't help but agree,
"Summer really is all about the sea."
The charm of this picture book is that it doesn't just end with them playing in the sea.
"The sea is the best!"
Just when the satisfied animals turn back to head home to the mountains—
I couldn't help but laugh at the final turn of events.
It has a punchline that both children and adults will enjoy, thinking, "So that's what it is!"
Even so, the summer heat is truly intense.
You sweat as soon as you go outside.
It's hot even after walking just a little bit.
You start craving something cold.
I think another appeal of this picture book is how it vividly expresses that "summer heat" through the animals' expressions and vibrant colors.
If I were reading this with my daughter, it would be fun to look at the hot-looking animals and ask,
"What do you want to do when we go to the sea?"
Swim in the ocean?
Play on the sandy beach?
Eat watermelon?
A child's imagination will surely expand further and further.
"Summer is the Sea" is a picture book that doesn't just leave the summer heat as "tough," but turns it into the joy of "that's exactly why the sea feels so good!"
Reading it on a hot summer day, it felt like a book that brings a sea breeze blowing from the other side of the pages.
This summer is hot, too.
But there are things you can only enjoy because it's this kind of summer.
"Summer is the Sea."
It is a summer picture book that makes you strangely agree with those words.