...and the livin' is easy. There's no better time to dive into picture books, especially books about summer adventures. Grab a towel (and some sunscreen), pack a lunch, and soak up three new stories about memorable trips to the beach and one book about everyone's favorite hot-weather treat.

A companion to Tea Rex and Camp Rex, Molly Idle's Sea Rex takes the yellow-haired protagonist and her young charge — along with their T. rex friend — on a trip to the beach. The direct-address text plays it straight ("Station yourself near a lifeguard who will keep an eye on you. Use plenty of sunscreen"). And the colored-pencil illustrations do, too…sort of. Lunch is nearly ruined by some seagulls (just as in life), but the T. rex saves the day, if not all the sandwiches. Humorous details throughout the pictures give readers plenty to look at. (Viking, 3–6 years)

A short, squat dog sporting an umbrella hat heads off for a beach day with his pet goldfish in its bowl-on-wheels. David Catrow's silly Fun in the Sun is told with only a few sentences: "Fun in the sun, fun in the sand, sand in the suit." It's Catrow's energetic pencil and watercolor illustrations that convey most of the action, including lots of sight gags and outrageous caricatures. (Holiday, 3–6 years)

A young girl and her parents spend their annual vacation at the same beach in the same motel for the same week and follow the same routine. This year, though, she makes a new friend. See You Next Year by Andrew Larsen is a tranquil, evocative picture book that resonates with intimate tenderness. Todd Stewart's luminous drawings spread across the low, wide pages, reflecting the sun, stretching over the sand, and capturing the serenity of dawn and dusk. (Owlkids, 5–8 years)

Ice Cream Summer by Peter Sís is a treat for ice-cream lovers. The text is Joe's brief letter to his grandfather detailing his "delicious" summer. While Joe describes his activities (reading, writing, practicing math), Sís's summery-hued illustrations put ice cream into every scene and cleverly blend cones into the art — the Statue of Liberty holds one aloft; trees are shaped like them. At book's end, a "special trip" with Grandpa is the fanciful cherry on top of a sweet story. (Scholastic, 5–8 years)

From the July 2015 issue of Notes from the Horn Book.