DANDYLION SUMMER

Two sisters wish on a dandelion seed for “the best summer ever” and suddenly see a plant-bedecked lion, whom they name Dandylion.

The story is told by the younger sister, beginning with: “On the last day of school, my sister and I find a dandelion on the walk home.” The girls are portrayed simply, with light skin, large brown eyes, and single lines for eyebrows, mouths, and noses. Shades of green in Dandylion’s mane set off the many-colored flowers and leaves around his nonmenacing, round-eyed face. Both art and text are simple and gentle, portraying a summer full of lazy, play-filled days, moonlit nights, and unwavering familial affection. The layout varies from double-page spreads to single pages with more than one discrete image; a particularly sweet section shows the girls riding on Dandylion’s back, reading a book with him in a tent, and then all three lying on their backs in a meadow that is certainly tick-free. Dandylion has been introduced to a number of townsfolk, but that doesn’t keep him from fading away as summer turns toward autumn. The little sister is sad, but her big sister is confident that Dandylion and summer will both return. The final spread offers a concluding beat that relieves a text that was becoming almost unbearably sentimental. Yoko Tanaka’s Dandelion’s Dream (2020) offers a different, richer take on the dandelion-come-to-feline-life theme.

Sweet—almost too sweet.