Chill Out! 5 Picture Books to Beat the Heat

The Beach House, by Deanna Caswell and Amy June Bates
The ocean is a main character in this delightful tale of a much-anticipated family trip to the beach. The minimal but well-crafted text captures the excitement of the family’s three children as their vacation unfolds, and vivid watercolor illustrations convey the inimitable sensory pleasures of a summertime visit to the coast—salt air, crashing waves, water games, chilly nighttime breezes, and crackling bonfires that emanate the aroma of roasting hot dogs. It’s a summer dream come true.

Eloise Takes a Bawth, by Kay Thompson and Hilary Knight
The resident kid in New York City’s famed Plaza Hotel, Eloise is a master at injecting a dose of mischief into utterly refined situations, and bath time is no exception. When Nanny implores the fancy-talking spitfire to get squeaky clean for afternoon tea, Eloise takes the splawsh of a lifetime. While the water flows…and flows…and flows some more, the bathtub turns into an aquatic playground where Eloise can sail, water ski, and even cavort with the fishes. Soon, this epic scrub-a-dub takes on a life of its own, delivering a few splawshy surprises to the hotel’s rawther fabulous patrons.

A Cool Drink of Water, by Barbara Kerley
Water, the great sustainer of life, is the star of this simple but evocative book. Photographs of people around the world illustrate our mutual—and unifying—need for water, and the pleasure that comes from a cool, hearty swig. The story takes us to a rainforest in Indonesia, a fountain in Rome, a river in India, and a desert in Australia, among other locations, revealing various sources of water, ways of drinking it, and methods for keeping it pleasantly chilly. It’ll have you reaching for an icy glass of H20 every time.

Frozen, Big Golden Book, by R.H. Disney
The kingdom of Arendelle is brought to life with vivid Disney storybook illustrations that invite readers to linger over the marvelous details of this icy wonderland. Follow royal sisters Elsa and Anna as they play in the snow, discover Elsa’s mysterious powers, endure separation, and traverse powdery mountains on the way to a towering ice palace, all in the name of sisterly love. (A tip of the hat to anyone who can read this without a chorus of “Let It Go” playing on internal rotation.)

Ice Cream Summer, by Peter Sis
Peter Sis’s clever and whimsical story chronicles a boy’s love for his favorite summertime treat: ice cream. As the boy pens a letter to his grandpa, he proudly outlines all the ways he is keeping up with his schoolwork over the summer. His studies take readers into an ice cream–centric universe, filled with fanciful vocabulary lessons, mouthwatering mathematical equations, and hilarious history lessons on the origins of the dazzling dessert.
Which picture books do you read to help beat the heat?