"The three old ladies fill their bags with homemade jam and flowers and magazines and say, "What a wonderful show the summer put on this year!"
-Garmann's Summer

Garmann's Summer, by Stian Hole is a quirky gem we picked up at the library last week. There are the collaged illustrations, both humorous and brilliantly beautiful. There is the story itself, told about a boy's sixth summer. There is the gift of poignant and ironic moments, like when Garmann, so anxious to lose his first tooth looks at his aunt's dentures suspended in a cup of water. This book is about fear, the things we fear as six year olds and 86 year olds. Fears are magnified when twin neighbors can do everything "Garmann doesn't dare to do: bicycle, walk tightrope on the fence, and hold their heads under water. And they can already read, and they can spell "rhubarb"-backwards and forwards." As summer comes to a close and the aunts leave, Garmann finds both solace in his backpack filled with school supplies, and also wishes his sixth summer didn't go so quickly. I saw school supplies in Target the other day, and can completely relate to the feeling that summer will be gone in a blink of the eye. I loved this sweet and zany book. Check it out as we literally did. See what you think.