Seasons

One day I was 12 years old and broke. Then Grandma gave me Grandpa’s old riding lawnmower. I set out to mow some lawns. More people wanted me to mow their lawns. And more and more. . . . One client was Arnold the stockbroker, who offered to teach me about “the beauty of capitalism. Supply and Demand. Diversify labor. Distribute the wealth.” “Wealth?” I said. “It’s groovy, man,” said Arnold. If I’d known what was coming, I might have climbed on my mower and putted all the way home to hide in my room. But the lawn business grew and grew. So did my profits, which Arnold invested in many things. And one of them was Joey Pow the prizefighter. That’s when my 12th summer got really interesting.

This picture book biography tells the true story of a steadfast, resourceful hero. Wilson Bentley (1865-1931) was a self-taught scientist who photographed thousands of snowflakes in order to study their formations. When his mother gave him an old microscope, he began what was to become his life’s work, studying the intricate designs of snowflakes. He discovered that no two patterns appeared the same. For three winters, he tried drawing what he saw, but the crystals always melted before he could finish. Then, when he was 17, his parents spent all their savings to buy Willie a camera with a built-in microscope, and he painstakingly perfected the technique that allowed him to capture images of his favorite subject. Graceful, color-tinted woodcuts help tell the story of Bentley’s life, while sidebars on every page offer intriguing facts about snow and Bentley’s experiments. The end of the book treats readers to a photograph of the scientist, a quote from him about his work, and three of his own snowflake photographs.

Hollywood actor Dayne Matthews and Katy Hart are married and living in Bloomington, Ind., where Dayne has found a solution to his on-camera love scenes-he wants Katy to star in his next film. Katy wins the part and is cast opposite her super-star husband. The story of a small town girl’s dream come true is too much for the press to resist, and in an effort to appease them, the couple agrees to a 12. It seems like the perfect compromise but by the time they finish filming the movie, they feel cracks around the edges of their marriage. Now they face an uncertain future, and possibly the end of everything that truly matters to them.

The Baxter family learns that Ashley and Kari are both pregnant, but an ultrasound reveals that something is wrong with one of the babies. As the summer progresses, the sisters pray for a miracle while trying to face the unthinkable. It’s in this trying season that they must all learn the lesson God has been trying to teach them-He is still in control, and He will be with them regardless of the outcome.

The Flanigans continue to draw closer to their only daughter, yet Bailey struggles to find her way amidst the turmoil of adolescence. She has always made good decisions, but she wants to experience more of life. Her friendship with Cody Coleman-the young border staying with the Flanigans-continues to blossom in this summer after his graduation. But when Cody decides to enlist in the Army, he’ll have to say goodbye to the family he’s come to love and the girl he’ll never forget.

Bill Martin, Jr., a master of rhyme leads children through the seasons in this picture book in verse, celebrating the wonders of each month. Greg Shed’s vibrant paintings cast a golden glow on an exuberant brother and sister as they go through the turning seasons–building a January snowman, floating paper boats in the thawing streams of March, splashing through April puddles, and delighting in the wild plums and sun-kissed fields of summer. A December snowfall completes the cycle, warning, “Get ready for a winter morning!”

The famous verses from the Book of Ecclesiastes inspired Caldecott medalists Leo and Diane Dillon to create this tribute to the cycles of life. Every verse in the book is accompanied by a full spread of artwork, each done in the style of a different culture. In all, the Dillons present 16 pairs of paintings showing cultures as diverse as ancient Greece, medieval Europe, aboriginal Australia, pre-conquest Mexico, 17th-century Ethiopia, and Imperial China. Notes at the end of the book explain more about each culture and the significance of the details shown. This is a book to view time and time again.