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
Ooh Hannah would love those, Erik. Thanks. I just want to go to the beach now.
You can go to the beach – when you read the book! 😉
Wish I could watercolor like AJB! Though I know I could do better if only I worked at it! There’s always that – hard work! Looks like a wonderful list too, Erik.
I know exactly what you mean Mrs. RoZo! 🙂
Some great summer reads! Thanks for pointing them out.
No problem! Enjoy! 😀
Thanks for getting us totally in vacation mood, Erik!
You’re welcome! 😉
Someday, I plan to go to the beach. I think it’ll be fun. Once Mom walked with me on the baseball field and I lost my mind when my paws touched the sand.
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Is that good or bad? 😉
I’m not sure. Mom said the word “psycho lunatic.” I’m pretty sure it’s good…
Just remember that she loves you, Cupcake. 😉
A nice list of beach books! I’m ready! Like you, I often enjoy books like Beach House that don’t name the characters. Interesting observation.
Thanks Ms. McDivit! Beach House was a great book! 😀
Great choice to start your summer vacation off. For me I’ll pick up a couple from the library and wrap up in front of the fire and dream of our coming summer by the sea. Have a great weekend. Thanks for the list Erik.
Thank you Ms. Tulloch! I hope you enjoy the fire! 😀
the cover is soooo inviting! I’m sure if I flipped off my shoes and opened this book I could imagine walking barefoot in the sand. On my list.
I know you’ll enjoy it! 😀
Amy just posted her paintings for this book on her blog. They are achingly beautiful. Glad to know more about this book. It’s on my must-have list now. Thanks. I like your other suggestions too. Have a great summer!
That must be really cool! I hope you like it! 😀
Absolutely perfect, Erik! All I need are my bathing suit and sunscreen. What a great collection of beach books. 😉
Thank you Ms. Kirkfield! All I need is a good book. 😉
Excellent summer choice and read. Makes me want to head back to Florida.
Ooo… Florida… 😉
Wow, some wonderful choices for summer. You did a lot of reading about sand. Time to get out and play in it! 🙂
Huzzah! As soon as I recover from pneumonia! 😉
Love your description that the rhyme had a sense of not being there. Nice. Chronicle puts out such beautiful books. Will look for this one. Plus you gave us so many others to put in our summer reading pile! Thanks, Erik!
No problem! They’re great books! 😀
“the rhyme in it had a soft, there-but-not-there feel” YAY! Thank you for the kind review! Deanna Caswell
It’s no problem Ms. Caswell! Your book deserved it! 🙂 I appreciate you taking the time to comment on my blog! ~Erik