TODAY

A child experiences time’s elasticity while waiting for, engaging in, and remembering a summer trip.

The young protagonist has brown skin and a face framed by wavy dark hair; no gendered pronouns are used to describe this child. According to the youngster, today seems to last forever when you’re counting the weeks until a family visit to Pop-pop’s or waiting in the car while “your parents yak-yak-yak with the neighbors” (one parent is brown-skinned; the other presents Asian). Time seems to race by when the child goes swimming at Pop-pop’s lake house—until the little one is stung by a wasp and wants nothing more than to get past that moment. Root beer and fireworks bring the child back to the present. Snyder’s descriptions ground the story in the scents and sounds of summer. Graegin’s palette, dominated by greens and blues, creates a peaceful atmosphere; her finely textured compositions depict an orderly world. The affection between the brown-skinned grandfather and child is evident, down to their matching yellow caps during the family picnic. Back home, when sleep is elusive and time stretches out again, the youngster practices breathing exercises while envisioning vacation scenes: “Remember today. / It’s yours to keep. / Always.” Children will relate to the protagonist’s varying feelings about time; parents wishing to reinforce the benefits of mindfulness will have a useful model.

Will help young readers learn to live in the moment and appreciate memories.