At the Beach

by Elizabeth Spurr, Manelle Oliphant (Illustrator)

Overview

Simple, evocative language and charming illustrations describe one boy's day at the beach.

In this gently rhyming board book about a visit to the beach, a young boy digs in the sand and makes a sand birthday cake, then loses it to the waves. His mother distracts him with a picnic and he falls asleep at the end of a full and happy day.

Elizabeth Spurr and Manelle Oliphant together create a perfect sit-in-your-lap reading experience for toddlers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561455836
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	04/02/2013
Pages:	22
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 5.70(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	1 - 3 Years

About the Author

Elizabeth Spurr began publishing a neighborhood newspaper at age ten and received a degree in journalism from the University of Southern California. She was a newspaper editor before she began writing children's books. She died in 2020.

Manelle Oliphant received a degree in illustration from Brigham Young University-Idaho and has created artwork for picture books, chapter books, theater posters, magazine articles, and games. She lives in Utah.

Editorial Reviews

"Oliphant's soft drawings, which look to be a mix of watercolor and colored pencil, capture the flow of sand and water well. . . While the youngster was pleasingly more self-reliant and self-assured in previous offerings, his play and his interactions with the natural world continue to ring true."—Kirkus Reviews

"The gentle scenes are depicted in watercolor and pencil, with one or two words per page. . . This simple story will resonate with parents and children."—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

As in In the Garden and In the Woods (both 2012), a young boy enjoys life in the great outdoors. Here, he delights in a day at the beach. One, two or three words on each page make up the rhyming text: "Sun Sky / Shore Boy // Sand Pail / Spade Toy." The youngster makes a sand birthday cake with his shovel and pail, but an inevitable wave destroys it. His mother, nearby, comforts him with a picnic lunch and a "Lap Nap" as he dreams of the sea. Oliphant's soft drawings, which look to be a mix of watercolor and colored pencil, capture the flow of sand and water well, though beach-going children will wonder at the pair's solitude on this apparently perfect summer day. While the youngster was pleasingly more self-reliant and self-assured in previous offerings, his play and his interactions with the natural world continue to ring true. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)

Kirkus Reviews