Sea, Sun, and Sand
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-- School Library Journal, 5/16/2007
Summer vacation is just around the corner, and for many kids, that means a trip to the beach. These titles bring to life all the sounds, smells, and sights of the seashore, and will have readers who have never seen the ocean plotting a way to get there.
BEST, Cari. When Catherine the Great and I Were Eight! illus. by Giselle Potter. Farrar/Melanie Kroupa Bks. 2003. ISBN 978-0-374-39954-2.
PreS-Gr 3–An intrepid group of family and friends from the city makes for the seashore, enduring traffic, a roadside breakdown, and an impromptu picnic before finally making it to the beach. Reigning matriarch Grandma Catherine ensures the day goes well not only by fixing the car, but by teaching her granddaughter Sara how to float on her back in the ocean.
BROWN, Margaret Wise. Sneakers, the Seaside Cat. illus. by Anne Mortimer. HarperCollins. 2003. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-06-028692-7; PLB $16.89. ISBN 978-0-06-028693-4; pap. $6.99. ISBN 978-0-06-443622-9.
PreS-Gr 3–From the moment Sneakers puts his paw in the surf until he curls up in the backseat of the car for the ride home, readers will enjoy exploring the seaside from a cat's point of view. This lyrical story was adapted from Brown's 1955 title Sneakers.
COOPER, Elisha. Beach. illus. by author. Scholastic/Orchard. 2006. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-439-68785-0.
PreS-Gr 3–This oversized beauty presents an expansive yet detailed view of seaside comings and goings. Cooper's watercolor and pencil illustrations elicit a sense of fun and encourage observation of various activities–a woman blowing up a tube, the clanging of a buoy bell, boys making a sand drip castle. A delightful way to give readers a feeling for the rhythm of a day at the beach.
ROOSA, Karen. Beach Day. illus. by Maggie Smith. Clarion. 2001. RTE $15. ISBN 978-0-618-02923-5.
PreS-Gr 2–Bouncing rhymes describe a perfect day at the beach, from swimming to picnicking to playing in the sand. The descriptions of the sights and sounds of a family beach outing will evoke the smell of suntan lotion and the feeling of sand between your toes. Smith's watercolor button-nosed beach babies are irresistible.
WALVOORD, Linda. Razzamadaddy. illus. by Sachiko Yoshikawa. Marshall Cavendish. 2004. RTE $14.95. ISBN 978-0-7614-5158-7.
PreS-Gr 2–Yoshikawa's brilliantly colored acrylic and pastel renderings of Walvoord's cantering rhyme give a zingy charge to this story of a boy and his dad's excursion to the beach. From morning 'til night, this duo keeps the action going, from "Piggyback, zig daddy, Giddyap, jig" to "Clappy me, happy me, All the way home." Lots of fun details on each spread make this a good small group read-aloud.
WIESNER, David. Flotsam. illus. by author. Clarion. 2006. RTE $17. ISBN 978-0-618-19457-5.
Gr 2-6–It's no surprise that this fantastic title from wordless book master Wiesner just won a Caldecott–readers will pore over every page looking for those details that are hard to catch the first time through! In this lusciously illustrated story, a beachcombing boy finds an underwater camera washed up on the shore and, when the film is developed, the images reveal amazing secrets from the deep.
Remarkable Reads are produced by the editors of NoveList, NoveList K-8, and Book Index with Reviews (BIR), leading resources for readers' advisory services and collection development. For more information, see epnet.com.
