Tong, To-ong, Teong, Ttak, Swaaaaa— when summer comes, the sounds of summer come with it. A picture book filled with the delightful sounds of summer. On a hot summer day, close your eyes and listen quietly. What do you hear? The moment you take a big bite of a bright red watermelon, the moment gray skies release a burst of rain, the moment you dive into clear water, the moment dazzling fireworks light up the night sky—every moment of summer holds its own 'summer sound,' both lively and calm, both noisy and quiet. Summer Sounds is a picture book that captures the sounds unique to summer. Using hand-carved woodblock prints, the artist vividly brings to life the shapes and ripples of each sound, page by page. With a rich variety of onomatopoeia and sensory expressions, the sounds of summer linger in your ears and on your tongue long after reading. From 'Tong, To-ong, Teong, Ttak,' the sound of summer slowly ripening, to 'Ssireuk, ssireuk, ssireuk,' the sound of summer quietly fading away—follow along with the playful sounds of summer captured in this single picture book. A Summer Filled with Onomatopoeia and Sensory Expression: What Summer Sound Speaks to Your Heart? The artist chose 'Tong, To-ong, Teong, Ttak' as the sound that announces the start of summer. What could this sound be? Every year around May 6th, as the solar term marking the beginning of summer arrives, watermelons begin to appear one by one at fruit stands. And with them comes a sound: Tong, To-ong, Teong, Ttak! People tap on watermelon rinds, listening for the one that's red inside, juicy, and sweet. A ripe, fully packed watermelon rings out with a clear 'Tong, To-ong, Teong,' while an unripe one gives off a sharp 'Ttak.' The artist saw the moment watermelons first appear at the fruit stand as the moment people first sense the shift from spring to summer, and captured the cheerful sound of the watermelon, 'Tong, To-ong, Teong, Ttak,' as the very first sound of summer. In this way, Summer Sounds is filled with the refreshing sounds heard only in summer. Alongside a wide range of onomatopoeia—deudeuk jjeo-eok, todok-todok, tto-ok tto-ok, cheuh-cheuh-cheuh-cheuh, ssireuk ssireuk, and more—the book reimagines each sound with a fresh perspective. The sound of eating watermelon becomes 'the sound of taking a bite out of summer'; the sound of falling raindrops becomes 'the sound of the monsoon knocking'; the buzzing of mosquitoes becomes 'the sound of battling an uninvited guest in the middle of the night.' Through these sensory metaphors, each scene of summer comes alive and fills our own summers with meaning. After reading Summer Sounds, the sounds you once let pass by unnoticed will begin to reach your ears one by one, making summer feel even richer. What summer sound speaks to your heart? The Taste, Heat, and Memory of Summer, Captured in Woodblock Print. Summer Sounds is author Park Seon-jeong's second picture book. One particularly rainy summer day, the artist noticed how the falling rain drew vertical lines across the sky, and thought the sound 'swaaaaa' matched perfectly with the shape of the letters spelling it out. From that day on, the artist began collecting all kinds of summer sounds, which were eventually carved into rubber printing plates and brought to life as a woodblock-print picture book. To depict a watermelon splitting in two, the artist deliberately carved out the center for the sound 'jjeo-eok'; to capture fireworks blooming across the night sky, she stamped 'peong' repeatedly at different angles to create a spreading, radiant effect. By making the most of the woodblock print medium, she brought summer vividly to life. Amid the harmony of vivid primary colors and open white space, feel the taste of summer, the heat of summer, and the memory of summer—all captured in sound.