With the kids home from school for the summer, these picture books are perfect for breaking up long days in the sun with some relaxing – and educational – family time. Here’s a taste of some of our favorites for an afternoon read.

“When You Can Swim,” written and illustrated by Jack Wong, transports young readers to a series of underwater worlds where adventures await. “When you can swim,” Wong writes, “you’ll conquer any fear.”

Growing up as an immigrant in Canada, Wong was never comfortable in the neighborhood pool. But when he learned to swim, the skill opened the door to the freedoms he explores in the book. 

In “What Happened to You?” written by James Catchpole and illustrated by Karen George, little Joe is playing at the local playground when a group of children asks him why he has only one leg. The kids soon realize that they don’t need to know what happened to him to include Joe in their games. 

Inspired by Catchpole’s experience growing up with a disability, the book tackles a serious subject with levity, heart, and understanding. The lighthearted story teaches children (and adults) how to be around people with disabilities and to look past outward appearances to what really matters. 

When the long, lazy days of summer beckon, head to your local library for a pile of stories to plunge into with your little ones. These five will inspire, enlighten, entrance, and delight children and their grown-ups, preferably with a popsicle in hand and soft green grass underfoot.   

Conquering fears

Deeply poetic and lyrical, “When You Can Swim” by Jack Wong is a meditative book that transports readers to a series of underwater worlds, a raft of adventures awaiting – when you can swim. 

The prose is pure poetry, as are Wong’s soft, painterly illustrations of swirling eddies, melding colors, and dappled light. Wong created both by visiting his favorite swimming holes again and again, making sketches and taking notes and pictures. The result is a sensory treat. 

“When you can swim, you’ll conquer any fear of tannin-soaked lakes pitch-dark from tree bark like oversteeped tea because that darkness will turn glittering gold when you gather it by the handful,” he writes.

The backstory here provides even more depth: Growing up as an immigrant in Canada, Wong was never comfortable in the neighborhood pool. His mother, afraid that he would drown, forbade him from swimming, which only compounded his anxieties. Later, when Wong took the plunge and learned to swim, the skill empowered him and opened the door to the freedoms and adventures he unveils in this gorgeous book.