It’s summer, and it’s hot! Acclaimed author-artist Nina Crews’s debut picture book was hailed as “a wonderful concept book” by The Horn Book and “the debut of a welcome new voice and vision” by Kirkus . The perfect book to share with young children on a hot summer day! One Hot Summer Day is a lively and beautiful photographic concept book about a perfect summer day. This picture book is ideal for sharing in the home or classroom, and readers will feel the summer heat while exploring the sensory delights of summer, including making chalk pictures on the pavement, swinging on the swing set, slurping grape pops, and enjoying a cooling rainstorm.  Ages 2^-5. Using collage, Crews translates the mental images of her own hot childhood summers into a sensorial feast for preschoolers. "It's summer, and it's hot," the book begins, "Dogs pant. Hydrants are open. Women carry umbrellas for the shade." Crews illustrates these symbols of summer using cutout photographic images mounted on related scenes. For example, for the above quote, clipped shots of an African American girl (the protagonist), a panting dog, and two women holding umbrellas in front of a store are superimposed on a street-scene photo of a spewing hydrant. Although the connections are predictable, the jumble of perspectives is refreshing. Finally, the day's sizzling images give way to the relief of grape popsicles and a cooling rainstorm. Especially relevant to urban libraries, this book provides many opportunities to discuss the senses and the unique experience of summer in the city. Julie Yates Walton "The highlighted edges of the cut-out photographs make them pop off the page, and the intensity of the glaring sunshine contrasts with the splash of the sudden rainstorm, so that the reader can really appreciate the little girl's glee as she tries to catch raindrops with her tongue and dances in puddles." - Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books "Using collage, Crews translates the mental images of her own hot childhood sum­mers into a sensorial feast for preschoolers. 'It's summer. and it's hot,' the book begins, 'Dogs pant. Hydrants are open. Women carry umbrellas for the shade.' This book provides many opportunities to discuss the senses and the unique experience of summer in the city." - Booklist "A wonderful concept book, grounded in ordinary events yet touched with magic, that will strike a familiar chord with preschool audiences while enlarging their perceptions." - Horn Book Magazine "The debut of a welcome new voice and vision, in photographs of a steamy summer cityscape and remembrances of the hottest of days." - Kirkus Reviews "Arresting multi-perspective photographs collages depict the ebullient girl drawing chalk pictures on the pavement, playing on a swing; with this novel format Crews skillfully captures the childlike wonder at and appreciation of small delights." - Publishers Weekly "Clever, colorful photo-collage illustrations feature a cheerful African American girl in an appealing urban landscape. Her summer day activities include an unsuccessful effort to fry an egg on the sidewalk (it's not quite that hot), a brief visit to the local playground (it's definitely too hot to sit on the shiny metal swings), and the messy fun of eating two grape popsicles in a row. A simple story of a child's everyday adventures, told in an innovative, yet accessible style that will be enjoyed by young listeners no matter what the season." - School Library Journal "An effervescent city child dances through a hot summer day until a thunderstorm brings welcome relief. Executed in collages made from color photographs, imaginatively redefined in unexpected juxtaposition....A wonderful concept book, grounded in ordinary events yet touched with magic, that will strike a familiar chord with preschool audiences while enlarging their perceptions. An auspicious debut!"--Horn Book. Nina Crews is a highly acclaimed author-illustrator and the daughter of Donald Crews and Ann Jonas. Her picture book The Neighborhood Mother Goose was an ALA Notable Book, a School Library Journal Best Book, and a Parenting Magazine Book of the Year. She is also the author and artist of One Hot Summer Day , I’m Not Small , Snowball , and other titles. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.