The Poetic Allure of Summer Fog

5 gorgeous spreads in the picture book "Hide and Seek Fog" (1965)

To avoid having every Moonbow newsletter title start with the number 5, I’ve named this edition of “5 Things” something more mysterious — which is probably not great newsletter etiquette — but I know this audience won’t be deterred. I’ve also decided not to create a summer reading list. Instead, I plan to share more emails throughout the next couple of months, giving you an inside peek at summery books I love.

As I mentioned in 5 Miserable Things, this series will vary. Sometimes it will be 5 books centered around a theme; other times, it will be 5 spreads of an incredible book. Today we’re going to take a peek inside one of the most beautiful picture books I’ve ever seen: Hide and Seek Fog (1965).

In this Caldecott Honor book, written by Alvin Tresselt and illustrated by Roger Duvoisin (who also collaborated with Tresselt on several stunning picture books, including the acclaimed White Snow, Bright Snow, 1947), a picturesque seaside town is socked with the worst fog it’s seen in twenty years: “The lobsterman first saw the fog as it rolled in from the sea. He watched it turn off the sun-sparkle on the waves, and he saw the water turn gray.” It’s an experience we’ve all encountered: the disappointment of spending summer vacation “in the middle of a cloud.” But the children aren’t bothered — they like the fog. “They played hide-and-seek in and among the gray-wrapped rocks” and “spoddled in the lazy waves on the beach.” Eventually, after three gloomy days, a warm glow breaks through the clouds, a breeze gently rolls back the fog, and the families emerge from their shut-in cottages onto the bright, sunny beach for a summer clambake.

Tresselt’s poetic language combined with Duvoisin’s delicate, evocative watercolor paintings is a sensual pleasure. It’s as if you can reach into the book and touch, smell, and taste the cool, misty fog — a fine example of the kind of magical storytelling that can only occur within the pages of a picture book. 

Now the afternoon sun turned into a pale daytime moon

then vanished into the bank of the fog.