FIREFLY SEASON, written by Cynthia Leitich Smith, illustrated by Kate Gardiner (Heartdrum, May, 13, 2025).
Written by the award-winning, bestselling author of Jingle Dancer, Cynthia Leitich Smith (Muscogee), and filled with tender illustrations by Kate Gardiner (Nipmuck), this unforgettable, warmhearted picture book is for family and the friends who become family.
Piper feels grateful for visits with her relatives, especially for the time spent with her cousins in Cherokee Nation and Muscogee Nation during summer vacations, fishing on misty mornings and playing on firefly-filled evenings. Piper’s family lives a road trip away in Kansas City. So when a neighbor named Sumi moves in next door, Piper is excited to share her stories and seasons with a new friend.
The two are inseparable—until Piper’s family moves to another city. Their bond overcomes distance, and with time, Piper dreams up a plan to reunite with the people she loves most of all.
Audio Edition Voice Actor: Katie Anvil Rich (HarperAudio, 2025)
- Featured Title, “Entwined Memory: A Special Book Installation,” curated by Eleanor Owl Stolzoff, August 8, 2025 – August 2, 2026, Reading Library, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
★ “…longing, love, and the blessing of found sisterhood.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
“A glowing tribute to family across distance and lineage.” —Kirkus Reviews
“Sisterhood knows no limits, even across different cultural backgrounds, in a story that blends Indigenous and South Asian facets in a wonderfully accessible and childlike way.” —School Library Journal
“[Katie Anvil] Rich gives the two girls youthful voices. Listeners will revel in their friendship and rejoice in their solution to living farther apart. Rich knows how to bring out the depth of childhood feelings.” —AudioFile Magazine
“…reflections on family, found family, and how bonds are forged and kept are reassuringly wholesome and direct. Repetitive language links similar events, creating a throughline of comfort in Piper’s experiences, and the sisterly bond between Piper and Sumi is quietly sweet and authentic to their age, focusing more on their activities together than dialogue. The illustrations, rendered in gouache and color pencil, exude a softness in line and form, with figures—human, bunny, and plant—often leaning into one another to create a sense of unifying affection.” —Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Five New Picture Books Share Indigenous Stories by AJ Eversole (Cherokee) from Publishers Weekly. PEEK: “New picture books depict contemporary Indigenous children and elders and highlight stories of kinship, heritage, and community.”
FIREFLY SEASON by Cynthia Leitich Smith — Book Review: “In the strong tradition of found sisters and family, this picture book celebrates both family connections and those we find along the way. The illustrations capture both nature and also the natural postures and facial expressions of the characters in a way that connects readers to the page. A big-hearted book about friends who become family.”
Honoring Native American Heritage Month with Kids Books by Indigenous Authors and Illustrators from Madison Reading Project.