“The Depth of the Lake and the Height of the Sky” by Kim Jihyun is one of my new favorite books! This wordless picture book is illustrated in grayscale with hints of blue. Even though it is wordless, it is no less impactful than a book with one thousand words. (There might even be a saying about that.) Jihyun tells the story of a boy leaving his home in the city for a summer vacation in the countryside with his parents and grandparents. The story follows the boy and his grandparents’ dog as they have adventures through the woods and by the lake. At the end of the book, Jihyun explains that she spent a few days in another country and was inspired by how the “soft sunlight warmed my skin, a gentle breeze rippled across the deep lake, countless stars sparkled high in the night sky.” Even though the book is all in black and white, you can feel the summer sun shining through the pages. This is a must-read (or a must-look-at, since there are no words to read) to get you in the mood for those summer vibes.
