Board · ages 1–3

Now I See Summer

Name: Now I See Summer
Author: Mac Barnett
ISBN: 9781529535747

Written by Mac Barnett · Illustrated by Jon Klassen

Book 2 of 4 in Now I See CollectionView the full series

Part of the Mac Barnett universeOpen the collection

Endlessly rereadable

A quiet, elegant summer board book that uses repeated words and seasonal illustration to help toddlers notice change.

Best for1–3
FormatBoard
Length24 pp
Read aloud~4 min

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The vibe

What it’s like.

Style

Repetitive
Lyrical

Tone

Gentle
Warm
Cosy
Whimsical

Themes

On the pageseasons, seasonal change, summer, garden, green leaves, first words, sun hat, blue sky

Experience meters

Energy1/ 5

Humour1/ 5

Scariness1/ 5

Peril1/ 5

Wonder3/ 5

Cosiness5/ 5

Emotional intensity1/ 5

Conceptual intensity1/ 5

What’s it about?

The story.

Now I See Summer uses the same sparse text as the other books in the quartet, inviting babies and toddlers to return to the same house, tree, garden and child across the year. In this summer volume, the tree has full green leaves, the sky is bright blue, the sweet treat is ice cream and the right hat is one that shades you from the sun. The repetition makes the book simple enough for very young readers, while the seasonal visual differences give adults plenty to point out and compare. Mac Barnett keeps the language almost elemental; Jon Klassen's illustrations carry the warmth, light and personality. It is a gentle baby book rather than a storybook, but a very strong one for early vocabulary, observation, seasonal awareness and calm shared reading.

Fit check

Right for your child?

Where it lands by age

Best fit · 1–3
Read aloud · 0–3
Independent · 2–4

Prose load

Light

Visual support

Very high

Reluctant-reader friendly

Very

Read-aloud quality

Strong

Works well for

Reading aloud
Bedtime
Reluctant readers

Low sensitivityNo content warnings

Nothing in the book is likely to concern most parents. Safe to recommend without preview.

Bedtime suitability

5 / 5 · Bedtime-friendly

Sensitive-child

4 / 5 · Good fit

Graphic intensity

1 / 5 · None

Best for

Baby board book
Summer
Seasonal concepts
Minimalist design
First words

Avoid if

Wants story plot
Wants lots of text
Prefers bright busy board books

In the classroom

How it works in school.

A simple, lovely nature board-book series for the very youngest — a gentle read-aloud introducing the natural world.

Classroom role

Read aloud
Topic companion

A book children love that happens to support school — never a stand-in for the texts a class is taught with. Reviewed for the classroom · June 2026.

Why it lands

Why they love it.

Why kids love it

Family belonging

Why parents love it

Beautiful illustrations
Bedtime appropriate
Quick to read
Indie gem discovery

In the series

Now I See Collection.

4 books · open the series →

Now I See Spring2026 · Book 1 You are here

Now I See Summer2026 · Book 2

Now I See Autumn2026 · Book 3

Now I See Winter2026 · Book 4

About the creators

About the creators.

Mac Barnett

Writer · United States · b. 1982

Mac Barnett is an American children's author born in 1982, known for picture books and illustrated chapter books with an absurdist, meta-storytelling sensibility. He collaborates frequently with illustrators including Jon Klassen (Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, Extra Yarn, The Wolf, the Duck and the Mouse, the Shape Trilogy), Mike Lowery (Mac B., Kid Spy chapter books), and Shawn Harris (The First Cat in Space). His work has won two Caldecott Honors and a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award. Barnett's voice is distinctively dry, knowing and quietly subversive, adults reading aloud often enjoy his books as much as the children listening. A reliable hit for families looking for funny-bone reads with intelligent edges.

Jon Klassen

Illustrator · Canada · b. 1981

Jon Klassen is a Canadian author-illustrator born in 1981 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, whose flat, deadpan, almost cinematic picture books have become one of the most distinctive visual signatures in contemporary children's publishing. He won the Caldecott Medal for This Is Not My Hat (2013), making him the first illustrator to win both the Caldecott and the Greenaway, after a Caldecott Honor for I Want My Hat Back. His Hat Trilogy (I Want My Hat Back, This Is Not My Hat, We Found a Hat) is darkly funny in a Coen-brothers register that adults love almost as much as the children listening. He also frequently collaborates with Mac Barnett (Sam and Dave Dig a Hole, the Shape Trilogy, Extra Yarn) and recently released The Rock from the Sky and The Skull.

Three ways out of this book.

If you liked this, try…

Lateral matches. Same shelf, different texture.

Now I See Spring

by Mac Barnett

Now I See Autumn

by Mac Barnett

Now I See Winter

by Mac Barnett

Come into this from…

Easier or preparing reads — perfect lead-ins.

Now I See Spring

by Mac Barnett

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

Bill Martin Jr.

Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See?

by Bill Martin Jr.

Hello, World! Weather

Jill McDonald

Hello, World! Weather

by Jill McDonald

Where to go next…

Escalation reads — a step up in scale, silliness, or stakes.

Now I See Autumn

by Mac Barnett

Now I See Winter

by Mac Barnett

Peek Through Nature: Tree

by Patricia Hegarty

More like this…

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The Tree and the River

by Aaron Becker

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by Grahame Baker-Smith

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Pick up a copy.

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Last reviewed · April 2026Suggest a correction How we recommend