A Book for Young Readers: Summer Party by Cynthia Rylant

Summer Party by Cynthia Rylant is a mix between a chapter book and a picture book.

It has pictures on every page but yet it is longer than the twenty page typical picture book and is even divided up into chapters.  This book would then be perfect for a little girl who has mastered enough of reading to move beyond simple sentences and to feel more accomplished by reading two-page long chapters.
(I say this because the three main characters are girls planning a tea party.  I am by no means though saying only girls should read this book or that little boys would not enjoy it and learn something from it).

Unlike in When I was Young in the Mountains, by the same author, Summer Party has a plot, a driving problem that allows the characters to come together and to solve it.

Two sisters and a cousin live with their Aunt Lucy because their parents are on tour as dancers.

Immediately, the plot is set into motion when the reader learns that girls' parents are returning which naturally makes them tearful about having to leave each other.

With help from their aunt and her boyfriend, the girls work together to create a tea party filled with special details like silly fortunes and creative poems.

This story has the theme of teamwork as these three girls plan their party, and each girl contributes something special to the festivities. At the same time, it also teaches to look to the future for hope.

Aunt Lucy teaches the girls that rather than focusing on being separated soon that they should find a bright spot to make them happy; the girls decide to have a reunion every summer and to create the party.  

Though this is a playful story, a child can learn simple life lessons from this book.

Since it is a short chapter book/ long picture book, Summer Party has pictures on every page.

Unlike a typical picture-book where one can glean new details from the pictures about the plot, here, the black-and-white pictures merely reflect what some of the words say.

This is not criticizing the pictures, but merely pointing out that the level of this book is more advanced; the child uses her imagination to create the images that the words describe with some help from the accompanying pictures.

With the plot, the themes, the enhancing pictures, and even the plot surprise at the end (no I'm not going to tell you what it is, you can find out if you read it too!), I would recommend this book novice beginner readers.