OUR POOL

A child and their mother take a trip to the city pool on a hot day.

The sounds of clanking in the locker room, a pause to apply sunblock, the muffling of noises under the water—everything about this outing is thrilling. The young narrator (the tale is told in first person, although there’s no specific character identified as the narrator within the illustrations) notes that swimmers have various body and skin types (“even sunburned skin—OUCH!”), and everyone has different ways of entering the water—some make their way in slowly, one toe at a time, while others dive right in. Everyone swims or lounges in their preferred manner. They float, splash (pausing for the lifeguard’s whistle), flip, dive, and swim through legs like dolphins. For most of this, the swimmers are united (“I” switching to “we”), but never more so than when a cloud covers the sun, everyone waiting until the sun shines again, and there’s a collective cheer! The ritual of leaving is just as important—one more “CANNONBALL!” before everyone gets ice cream at a waiting truck. The merriment, beauty, and comforting routines of a pool day are on full display in this celebration of an urban summer tradition. Both the chatty, child-friendly text and the gouache, colored pencil, and digitally finished artwork ooze exuberance; Cummins’ saturated colors and energetic, curving waves are utterly inviting. The cast is racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pure summer fun.