Read via an online reader copy, Time for Haiku: Four Seasons of Poems by Josep Santaeulàlia, Lawrence Schimel (translator), and Luciano Lozano (illustrator) felt like it was going to be just another book about the seasons in one of two formats: way too poetic and simple, or way too scientific and crowded. Instead it was a lovely collection of seasonal poetry that was not only poetic, but made the entire book read as one solid story. Or, that each chapter (or that season) was one story. Therefore I would say there are four short stories in this book, with the addition of education material on haikus making it neither too long, short or even too academic as the poems are fun, the extras are meant for when the reader or listener is older and reader to write their own. I would recommend adults using this information as well.
Sure there are some facts to things (you have snow in winter, or shorter nights in the summer) but it is all formatted as a haiku would be. It gives not just the familiar 5-7-5 syllable pattern and uses the phrases and words needed to connect it to its historical past of haiku writing. Things seem simple on the surface, but it will give the complexity of the genre. And that combination is sweet and salty, but soft and not a hard candy, but maybe a caramel. 
It is the illustrations that give you a more simplicity for the overall picture. Still, they are not simple or easy. They have basic details, they have their own color theme for each of the seasons. And the images remind me of Japanese art, with a bit of modern touches. Honestly, they are the lighter elements that blend into the text which are the harder pieces without being dark and edgy.
