- Picture Books
- Ages 2–5
- Nature
National Trust: When Summer Comes
Part of the My Favourite Seasons universeOpen the collection
The second of Nosy Crow and the National Trust's My Favourite Seasons quartet: a gentle spot-and-find picture book following one small child through the sights and sounds of summer.
- Best for2–5
- FormatPicture
- Length32 pp
- Read aloud~6 min
The vibe
What it’s like.
Style
- Repetitive
- Conversational
Tone
- Gentle
- Warm
- Whimsical
- Cosy
Themes
Experience meters
What’s it about?
The story.
When summer comes, the sun is warm, the flowers are open and there is so much to see out in the long, bright days. Ekaterina Trukhan's clean, sunny pictures follow a little girl through a summer of ducks and deer, frogs, fish and a friendly mole, watering the vegetables with Mum and packing a picnic with Dad before watching the sun go down together. The second title in the My Favourite Seasons series, published by Nosy Crow with the National Trust, it gives the very youngest readers something small to spot and name on every page. Simple enough for a toddler, warm enough to return to again and again, it's a calm first-nature book that celebrates the ordinary magic of summer. A free Stories Aloud audio recording is included via a QR code.
“When summer comes...”
Fit check
Right for your child?
Where it lands by age
A first-nature picture book pitched at toddlers and pre-schoolers, roughly 2-5. Best as a read-aloud share from around one, when the pictures do the work; confident early readers of four to six can follow the simple text themselves.
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- Best fit · 2–5
- Read aloud · 1–4
- Independent · 4–6
Prose load
Minimal
Visual support
Very high
Reluctant-reader friendly
Very
Read-aloud quality
Strong
Works well for
- Reading aloud
- Bedtime
- Reading together
- Gift-buying
- Reluctant readers
Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.
Bedtime suitability
4 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly
Sensitive-child
5 / 5 · Good fit
Graphic intensity
1 / 5 · None
Best for
- Nature
- Seasons
- Read aloud
- Toddler first books
- Spot and find
Avoid if
- Wants action adventure
- Wants a strong plot
Particularly good for children who are…
- Interested in science
In the classroom
How it works in school.
A gentle EYFS anchor for talking about the seasons, weather and the natural world, with plenty of nameable detail for early vocabulary work.
A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with.
Why it lands
Why they love it.
Why kids love it
Frogs and fish, a friendly mole, deer at dusk and a picnic in the sun: each spread gives a small child something to point at and name, and the little girl at its heart is doing the summery things they love to do.
- Cosy safety
- Family belonging
Why parents love it
Trukhan's bright, friendly artwork and the gentle season-by-season refrain make this an easy share with a wriggly toddler, while the spot-and-name detail earns repeat reads. The National Trust link and free audio add quiet reassurance and value.
- Beautiful illustrations
- Bedtime appropriate
- Quick to read
About the author & illustrator
Ekaterina Trukhan.
If you liked this
Three ways out of this book.
If you liked this, try…
Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.
Come into this from…
Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.
Where to go next…
Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.
More like this…
Books that share themes and topics with this one.
