Summer Evening

In the first of a series based on the Walter de la Mare poems that appeared in the 1913 collection Peacock Pie, Rabei presents nostalgic visuals alongside an eight-line paean to summer. A family of four sits in the evening at an outdoor table, where they enjoy a cherry dessert. De la Mare’s poem muses on the quiet sights and sounds of the family’s farm: “In the dewy fields the cattle lie/ Chewing the cud ’neath a fading sky.” Successive wordless spreads augment the poem’s imagery. As the children explore the farmyard and the swaying grass of the fields, the sinking sun casts a fiery glow over the distant hills. Another spread features the farm’s various animals—pigs, a cow, geese, chickens, horses, and Old Rover the dog—nestling in for the evening. Rabei renders the screen-print images in tawny and olive green tones. While the children wear modern clothing, the tranquil pages carry a sense of timelessness. Ages up to 5. (June)