Another one that I liked but my girls found too boring. ( )

Picture-book author/artist Elisha Cooper explores a day at the beach in this engaging title, opening at dawn when the strand is almost deserted, depicting the myriad of activities and events that occur as people begin to arrive, and closing at dusk, as once again the sand begins to empty. In between, wordless two-page spreads are intermingled with spreads in which a series of miniature illustrations are paired with a description of what is going on. People swim, sunbathe and play in the sand, enjoying the beauty of this border region between land and sea...

Having enjoyed every other Elisha Cooper title I have picked up - favorites would have to include the wonderfully droll Magic Thinks Big, as well as the immensely poignant Big Cat, Little Cat - I wasn't surprised to find that Beach had immense appeal for me. Cooper captures the sense of magic and fun of a day at the shore, not just for individuals but for the entire ecosystem. The artwork, done in watercolor and pencil, is just lovely, and the text evocative. When the author writes: "The perfect wave lifts high and drops low and can be felt in the stomach," I was transported to my own youth, and the magical days I spent at the beach with my own family, jumping through waves again and again, until exhausted. Recommended to all young beach lovers, and to anyone looking for picture-books about what humans get up to at the shore. ( )

This children's picture book all about the beach and would fit into the genre of nonfiction or informational books. It could also fit into the poetry genre, even though the text doesn't rhyme, it is lyrical and flows poetically. Award-winning author and illustrator Elisha Cooper captures the simple magic of building sand castles, collecting shells, jumping into waves and follows all the activities and things to do at the beach. I would use this book in content-area literacy center that focused on the ocean, because it helps students build background knowledge of topics that are unfamiliar to them if they have not been to the beach, or have spent little time there. This would also be a good text to use the reading strategy, 'Creating Images' since so many of the words and phrases appeal to the senses, students can look for them in this book and talk about what the words make them feel or think of.

genre: realistic fiction
This book is all about the beach. It takes you on an adventure of what it is like to spend a day on the beach. It has detailed descriptions of what you can do at a beach. It has great vocabulary in it as well that describes the beach. It has different characters in it and describes what they do during their beach day.
Age group: 2-4th

40 months ( )