Summer

Yellow and red, orange and brown-- fall is full of color! But why do leaves change color? Illustrated with gorgeous watercolor and collage artwork, this nonfiction picture book introduces young readers to the science behind the many colors of leaves. With a glossary and hands-on experiments.

Estivation is just like hibernation--only it happens in summer instead of winter. Why do some animals settle into cool, snug spots and sink into a summertime sleep? Because it's too hot for their bodies to function, or their food is in short supply. Some estivating animals sleep groups; others rest alone. Some go on a long journey before they slumber; others hunker down right at home. From the pixie frog to the spotted turtle to the desert hedgehog,...

In the summer of 1968, after travelling from Brooklyn to Oakland, California, to spend a month with the mother they barely know, eleven-year-old Delphine and her two younger sisters arrive to a cold welcome as they discover that their mother, a dedicated poet and printer, is resentful of the intrusion of their visit and wants them to attend a nearby Black Panther summer camp.

Thirteen-year-old Socko and his mother leave their cramped, unsafe inner city apartment and move to a house in a new suburban development where they plan to care for Socko's crotchety great-grandfather, but when they arrive they discover that the rest of the homes are unfinished, they are the only residents of Moon Ridge Estates, and that trouble has followed them.