Summer reading pick: Pig Kahuna by Jennifer Sattler

It's no secret that most kids adore being seaside, but actually venturing into the water is often another story. Author-illustrator Jennifer Sattler, an upstate New Yorker, captures that mix of unbridled enthusiasm and ambivalence spot-on in her new picture book, Pig Kahuna (Bloomsbury, $15; ages 4 to 8). Fergus and his little brother, Dink, two super-adorable pigs, are enamoured of the beach and just about anything it washes ashore, but eschew the "lurking, murky ickiness" the sea must certainly harbor alongside all its treasures. One day, a really choice find turns up on the sand: a spiffy white surfboard with a red stripe down the middle. Deeming that the board is ownerless, the two add it to their extensive collection and name it Dave (he notion of surfing on it is, of course, quickly dismissed). But when Dink takes pity on the surfboard and sets it free in the waves, Fergus's affection for Dave vanquishes his fear of the water and he dashes in to rescue his inanimate friend. The palette of Sattler's watercolor-esque illustrations exudes the washed-out, dreamy colors of the beach—and the sunny pleasure of being there—in such a way that you almost hear the seashore when you read the book: Now that's a summer read.