[...]... happens at this time 28 Some cultures celebrate the summer solstice People are thankful for the sunshine that helps plants grow Plants produce food for people to eat Fruits and vegetables will be ready to pick and eat soon after the summer solstice If you were to plan a summer solstice celebration, what would it be like? In Sweden, people celebrate the summer solstice with dances and songs 29 Glossary... grow heavy on their vines When they are ripe, we pick them Maybe we’ll make a salad Zucchini grow on vines in the summertime 21 Some trees form acorns or other kinds of seeds 22 Acorns grow on oak trees Days are long The sun doesn’t set until evening 23 Fall Is Coming In late summer, days begin to get shorter The temperature begins to cool slightly In late summer, you might need a sweatshirt outside... t a b le 16 The Summer World In summer, animals teach their young to hunt for food Soon their babies will go off on their own A mother bear teaches her cubs how to catch fish 17 Ducks swim with their babies lined up close behind them Follow the leader! Baby ducks are called ducklings 18 Tree branches can barely be seen through puffs of deep green leaves 19 Plants are covered with clusters of brightly... Help your friends put on sunscreen Be careful not to miss a spot! 13 A floppy hat and dark sunglasses shade my eyes from the bright sunshine It’s important to protect your eyes from the sun Too much sunshine can hurt them 14 Splash! Swimming is one way to stay cool in the summer Sunlight sparkles like diamonds on the water 15 Inside, a fan b lo ws to keep ac us ool co b ree mf ze or t a b le 16 The Summer. .. sweatshirt outside 24 or r t to c h a n g s ta ec s ol ve a Le 25 Children start thinking about going back to school What will you put in your backpack this year? 26 is on its wa y Fall 27 Summer Solstice The summer solstice happens each year around June 21 It marks the beginning of summer in the Northern Hemisphere The solstice occurs because Earth is tilted on an axis An axis is an imaginary line through...Grass grows thick and green beneath the blazing summer sun 9 In some places, the summer air is dry It makes me thirsty for a cool glass of lemonade Four girls sell lemonade on a hot summer day 10 In other places, summer air is humid The moisture in the air feels thick and dewy The weather in Saint Petersburg, Florida, is often warm... Agency: SunWise Kids http://www.epa.gov/SunWise/kids.html Glaser, Linda It’s Summer! Minneapolis: Millbrook Press, 2003 Low, Alice Summer New York: Random House, 2007 Vanasse, Deb Under Alaska’s Midnight Sun Seattle: Sasquatch Books, 2005 31 31 Index acorns, 22 air, 10–11 animals, 17–18 bicycles, 7 fall, 24–27 flowers, 20 seeds, 22 summer solstice, 28–29 sunglasses, 14 sunscreen, 13 sunshine, 5, 14, 29... be like? In Sweden, people celebrate the summer solstice with dances and songs 29 Glossary cluster: a group of items such as flowers humid: hot and sticky moisture: dampness protect: to keep safe ripe: ready to be picked and eaten scorching: very hot sunscreen: a cream or lotion that protects skin from the sun vine: a long, skinny branch 30 Further Reading Branley, Franklyn M Sunshine Makes the Seasons... sunglasses, 14 sunscreen, 13 sunshine, 5, 14, 29 sweat, 6 swimming, 15 trees, 8, 19, 22 grass, 9 vegetables, 21, 29 plants, 20, 29 weather, 5–6, 8–11, 24 Photo Acknowledgments The images in this book are used with the permission of: © Jonathan Vasata/ Dreamstime.com, p 1; © Juana Van Burg/Dreamstime.com, p 2; © BananaStock Ltd., p 4; © Peter Muller/Cultura/Getty Images, p 5; © Cheryl Casey/Dreamstime.com, . Sheila. Are you ready for summer? / by Sheila M. Anderson. p. cm. — (Lightning bolt books TM – Our four seasons) Includes index. ISBN 978–0–7613–4585–5 (lib. bdg. : alk. paper) 1. Summer Juvenile. 32 Contents page 4 Staying Cool page 24 Coming Is Fall page 17 World Summer The page 8 Summer Weather of Summer Sights and Sounds Summer Solstice page 28 Further Reading page 31 page 12 Crrack!. an d of Sights Sounds Summer 44 Kids playing games are a common sight on sunny summer days. Warm sunshine and clear, blue skies invite people to play outdoors. S u m m e r i s h e r e . 5 Your face