Firefly Season
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- $7.99
Publisher Description
Written by the award-winning, bestselling author of Jingle Dancer, Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), and filled with tender illustrations by Kate Gardiner (Nipmuck), this unforgettable, warmhearted picture book is for family and the friends who become family.
Piper feels grateful for visits with her relatives, especially for the time spent with her cousins in Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation during summer vacations, fishing on misty mornings and playing on firefly-filled evenings. Piper’s family lives a road trip away in Kansas City. So when a neighbor named Sumi moves in next door, Piper is excited to share her stories and seasons with a new friend.
The two are inseparable—until Piper’s family moves to another city. Their bond overcomes distance, and with time, Piper dreams up a plan to reunite with the people she loves most of all.
Perfect for young readers navigating big feelings, this gentle story explores:
A Multicultural Friendship: The beautiful bond between Piper, a citizen of Muscogee Nation, and her new neighbor Sumi, whose family is from India.Navigating Big Feelings: A gentle, reassuring story for children facing a big move or the sadness of a friend moving away.Celebrating Indigenous Culture: Join Piper on her summer visits home to Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation, filled with family stories, grape dumplings, and dancing with fireflies.Staying Connected Across Miles: Shows how heartfelt letters and special visits can keep a friendship strong, no matter the distance.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"As Sun rises/ on misty mornings" in Cherokee Nation and "moon rises/ on steamy evenings" across the tribal border in Muscogee Nation, seven-year-old Piper, an only child, enjoys visiting extended family—fishing, dancing with fireflies, learning from older cousins, eating grape dumplings, and listening to elders' stories. Piper also misses her cousins terribly when she and Mama return to their Kansas City home. But "a new day brings/ a new neighbor": four-year-old Sumi, with whom she becomes fast friends. When Piper's parents announce a family move to Topeka, Piper and Sumi keep in touch, and a letter from Sumi prompts Piper's thanking the Creator "for the blessings of family." As time passes, the two deepen their bond, experiencing each one's favorite traditions on shared trips to Oklahoma and Mumbai. Declarative language from Leitich Smith (Holler Loudly), a citizen of the Muscogee Nation, traces a familial narrative filled with longing, love, and the blessing of found sisterhood. Colorblock-like gouache and colored pencil illustrations from Gardiner (Sometimes We Fall), a member of the Chaubunagungamaug band of Nipmuck Indians, lean into scenes of community and play in this work about two friends creating their own familial bonds. Background characters are portrayed with various skin tones. An author's note concludes. Ages 4–8.
