“In Brooklyn / in the summer / not so long ago” is the refrain in this joyful, nostalgic picture book about the freewheeling play of a group of children on a particular city block. In the summer, grown-ups are always busy with something or other, but “us kids were free as air. Free as sun. Free as summer.” On a street where Spanish, English, Polish, German, and Chinese are spoken, where famous baseball players and singers and writers grew up, kids open fire hydrants for relief from the heat (instantly curling the Black narrator’s straightened hair). They play skully with tar-filled bottle caps, jump double Dutch, and scrape their knees. They build forts out of cardboard boxes, play stickball and steal-the-bacon and kick-the-can and tag. They chase the ice cream truck and tell stories. Every free moment between breakfast and dinner is spent in the glorious outdoors, where everything feels possible. Judging by the retro clothing and Afros in the vibrant art, the story takes place in the 1960s or 1970s, providing a snapshot of the carefree kid culture of a particular time and place.  ©2022 Cooperative Children’s Book Center (Ages 4-8)