Susanna Leonard Hill has a feature on her blog called Perfect Picture Book Friday. It is a list of “perfect” picture books recommended by all sorts of people. I chose this book because summer breaks are starting everywhere, and families are going on vacations a lot.

Beach House
Written by Deanna Caswell
Illustrated by Amy June Bates
32 pages – ages 3+
Published by Chronicle Books on May 12, 2015

Theme/Topic- going to the beach / waiting

Genre- Realistic Fiction

Opening and Synopsis- Opening –

“A long, long drive.
It’s been a year
of dreaming, waiting.
Summer’s here.”

Synopsis – from GoodReads: “In a funny and heartfelt celebration of family, vacations, and the joy of the sea, Deanna Caswell and Amy June Bates capture the essence of summer—building sand castles, jumping the waves, and watching the stars come out after a long day at the beach—and the love that warms every moment.”

Why I picked this book- This is a really well done summer book. The characters are never named, which is a great touch. The warm feeling the watercolors generate is perfect for this book. I really enjoyed this book, and the rhyme in it had a soft, there-but-not-there feel. This was a great book I would recommend to any family going on vacation to read (whether on vacation or not) or if you just want to dream about warm summer days. 🙂

Activities and Resources-

I found a cute seashell fish craft for kids on the Crafts by Amanda blog – click HERE

Education.com had a list of 10 Super Sand Activities HERE

To find more Perfect Picture Books please visit Susanna Hill’s blog HERE!

Here are some other great summer books you may want to look for!

On My Beach
By Sara Gillingham
Illustrated by Lorena Siminovich
Puppet board book – ages 2+
Published by Chronicle Books on May 19, 2015

What I Thought- This is a cute board book. It gives a little about a day in the life of a crab, and also gets kids interacting, with the puppet it has.

~

Aqualicious
By Victoria Kann
Series: Pinkalicious
pages – ages 5+
Published by HarperFestival on March 3, 2015

What I Thought- This was a great book! It was cool how the mermaid/merminnie in the book was an “actual” thing at the beach for Pinkalicious and her family to see, and not just in Pinkalicious’ imagination. This is a really cool series!

~

Paddington at the Beach
Written by Michael Bond
Illustrated by R.W. Alley
32 pages – ages 3+
Published by HarperCollins on June 30, 2009

What I Thought- The Paddington books are a great series. I like how this book slightly encourages counting (seagull #1, etc.), and has a funny ending. The illustrations help make this a good book, too!

~

Chu’s Day at the Beach
Written by Neil Gaiman
Illustrated by Adam Rex
32 pages – ages 3+
Published by HarperCollins on April 7, 2015

What I Thought- This was a really cute book. I like that the animals WANT Chu to sneeze again, even though his first sneeze messed the beach up. It was nice.

~

In the Waves
Written by Lennon and Maisy Stella
Illustrated by Steve Björkman
40 pages – ages 3+
Published by HarperCollins on April 28, 2015

What I Thought- This was a great interpretation of a song by Lennon and Maisy Stella. Lennon and Maisy are the stars of the ABC TV show, Nashville. The illustrations are fun and really cool!

From HaperCollins –

“Head to www.harpercollinschildrens.com/inthewaves to listen and sing along as the girls gather their boogie boards and sip homemade lemonade.”

Categories: Age 1-5, Age 6-9, Perfect Picture Book Friday

Tags: amy june bates, aqualicious, beach house, bibliophile, book review, chu's day at the beach, deanna caswell, in the waves, on my beach, paddington at the beach, perfect picture book, susanna leonard hill, this kid reviews books