In this charming picture book, a cheerful family tumbles out of the car and onto the beach, ready for a perfect day. Buoyant verse just right for reading aloud and bright, playful illustrations capture the singular feeling of a hazy, lazy day by the ocean, complete with a ball game with new friends, water-skiers and sailboats, and a picnic lunch of fried chicken and deviled eggs. This book is a captivating introduction to the beach for young children and an irresistible gift for beach lovers of any age. 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 Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. 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 Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved The excitement and enthusiasm of the day are perfectly captured by the artist's bright, lively watercolors and the author's active, playful text. School Library Journal "It is a land and waterscape that reaches right down into our primordial souls — the beach, here given full inconic 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 strand—"Waves roar/ Rush,and soar!/ Rolling, crashing/ To the shore" —to the tramp back out—"Sun-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 langour: "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." Kirkus Reviews "It is a land and waterscape that reaches right down into our primordial souls — the beach, here given full inconic 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 strand—"Waves roar/ Rush,and soar!/ Rolling, crashing/ To the shore" —to the tramp back out—"Sun-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 langour: "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." Kirkus Reviews Young readers will be searching for flip-flops and sunscreen upon finishing this kicky look at a summer day spent at the shore. . . . All told, this book will have the whole family hankering for a day by the water. Publishers Weekly The lively art in deep, vivid watercolor washed is filled wit hwell-observed details. Kids will have fun poring over and talking about the illustrations as they find new stories in the visuals. Booklist, ALA, Boxed Review Roosa's happy verse perfectly captures a sunny beach day full of salty splashing and play. . . .With warm, bright watercolor illustrations that are packed with inviting, authentic detail, this book is presents an ideal visit to the shore. Horn Book Guide Karen Roosa is the author of Beach Day , which was named a Ban