The Summer Book

“I read The Summer Book as an adult, not long after my Mum died. It’s a book about a summer on a Finnish Island, but it’s also a book about grief. It’s about a little girl and her grandmother quietly negotiating the ideas of mortality and bereavement through a series of incredibly delicate and funny conversations. I think it’s probably in my top three most important books to me in my whole life.” Read more...

The best books on Summer

Melissa Harrison, Environmentalist

“The Summer Book is a book that would appeal to people who enjoy the Moomins….I think The Summer Book expects an adult reader. It could be read with enjoyment by a young child, but the point of view throughout most of the book, although we’re focused on Sophie, the little child, is a wise eye that’s looking at her. A lot of the time that seems to belong to her grandmother. Sophie and her grandmother and her father live on this little island from time to time in the summer. They’ve got everything they need there. They’ve got the house and the boat, and Papa has his work—he seems to be a writer. Sophie and her grandmother spend a lot of time pottering about and playing and building little Venetian lagoons for the ants to go into and that sort of thing. It’s very funny and very charming. And you think that’s all it is—a sweet little book about a child and her grandmother. But, actually, it’s much more than that.” Read more...

Favourite Books

Philip Pullman, Children's Author

“On the island the grandmother, who is an artist, creates a whole world—a forest with animals made from pieces of wood for the granddaughter. The book explores ways in which they engage with each other.” Read more...

Children’s Books About Relationships

Jean Webb