Review by Booklist Review
Ages 3^-5. Similar in structure to Hubbell's Sea, Sand, Me! this begins as several families arrive at a beach. A multicultural group of children play ball together, eat lunch, build sandcastles, and wade in the water before packing up their gear for the trip home. The short, pithy rhymes express vivid impressions of the experience: "A freckled nose, / sandy toes. / Ocean's salty / Sea breeze blows." The lively art in deep, vivid watercolor washes is filled with well-observed details. Kids will have fun poring over and talking about the illustrations as they find new stories with each turn of the page. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Young readers will be searching for flip-flops and sunscreen upon finishing this kicky look at a summer day spent at the shore. In her picture book debut, Roosa serves up myriad salty, sandy and sunny images in bouncy verse. ("High clouds flurry,/ Sand crabs scurryÄ/ Hungry swimmers/ In a hurry!/ Chicken legs,/ Deviled eggs.../ What a banquet!/ Seagull begs.") From building sandcastles to romping in the surf and enjoying a beach blanket feast, Roosa incorporates all the fun things that families do on a beach-vacation day that stretches from morning to twilight. Smith (This Is Your Garden) matches Roosa's joyful tone step for step, depicting families of every size, shape and color, donning all manner of bright bathing suits, sun hats and cover-ups. A rainbow of sand toys, towels, beach umbrellas and coolers dot the dunes and the beach itself like colored pebbles. Smiling children and kind-faced adults (and a couple of playful pooches) make use of every part of nature's playground; sailors and kite-fliers in the background further extend the energetic on-the-sand and in-the-water scenes. All told, this book will have the whole family hankering for a day by the water. Ages 3-6. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Delighted families rush onto the beach. Parents and children water-ski, bury themselves in the sand, splash and cavort in the water, play ball, and build colossal sand castles. Gliding over heads and swirling under feet, the rhyming text is well complemented by Smith's jubilant and frolicsome pictures. The excitement and enthusiasm of the day are perfectly captured by the artist's bright, lively watercolors and the author's active, playful text. Pair this with Marie-Louise Gay's Stella, Star of the Sea (Groundwood, 1999) and Silvia Francia's Roberta's Vacation (Kane/Miller, 1998) for a swimmingly fine storytime.-Be Astengo, Alachua County Library, Gainesville, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Roosa's happy verse perfectly captures a sunny beach day full of salty splashing and play: Sandy knees / Foaming seas / Insects dancing / In the breeze. With warm, bright watercolor illustrations that are packed with inviting, authentic detail, this book presents an ideal visit to the shore. From HORN BOOK Fall 2001, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
It is a land and waterscape that reaches right down into our primordial soulsthe beach, here given full iconic treatment. Using scant couplets to convey the most elemental pleasures of a day at the beach, and enticingly depicted in Smith's watercolors, this will call up memories of any reader who has spent time on the ocean's shore. From that first rush down the dunes and onto the strandWaves roar, / Rush, and soar! / Rolling, crashing / To the shore"to the tramp back outSun-warmed skin, contented grin"it is an experience unlike any other and Roosa's got it just right. Sandcastles, swimming, softball, snoozing. Pictured details entice: kicking off one's shoes, chasing sand crabs, enjoying trays of yummy lunch. "Noon light / Shimmers bright / In the distance, / Hot and white." Appetite and taste take on a special edge, and then the hit of post-lunch languor: "Waves lapping/ Babies napping / On the water / Sails are snapping." Good stuff, simple and viscerally transporting, the waft of salt strong from the page. Over too soon. (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
