Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | BOARD BOOK SPU | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
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.
Author Notes
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.
Reviews (3)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Using succinct rhymes, this sturdy board book details a boy's day at the seaside. Situated on the water's edge, he intently digs in the sand with his spade to fill a bucket. Carefully, he pats and overturns his bucket to "bake" a cake. He adds sticks in place of candles and a ring of shells at the base to fashion a pretend birthday cake. Soon after, the tide comes in and devours it. Tears are quickly wiped away when Mom calls him for lunch, a nap, and dreams of the beach. The gentle scenes are depicted in watercolor and pencil, with one or two words per page, e.g., "Dig," "Fill," "Pat," Bake." This simple story will resonate with parents and children.-Laura Hunter, Mount Laurel Library, NJ (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Spurr and Oliphant wrap up a board book trilogy that began with In the Garden and In the Woods. Like its predecessors, this book is built around succinct phrases; in this case, they follow a boy's day at the shore. "Dig/ Fill/ Pat/ Bake/ Boy makes.../ a birthday cake," writes Spurr as Oliphant uses gentle textures to suggest the rippling ocean and sandy beach. Although the boy's sand creation proves temporary, it's clear that his mother's love is anything but. Ages 1-3. Agent: Natalie Fischer Lakosil, Bradford Literary. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
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)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
