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Summary
Summary
The story of a boy's visit to the beach, Beach Feet opens with a small boy feeling the heat of the sand and then running towards the ocean. Free and independent despite his young age and the tube around his waist, the boy gives himself over to the ocean and the pleasures to be had at water's edge. Throughout, the boy's connection to the beach through his feet--the feel of sand, shells, water--is never lost. Unusual perspectives and a pitch-perfect voice make this a standout.
Kiyomi Konagaya was born in 1936 in Shizuoka, Japan. At university, he studied English literature and published his poetry in literary magazines. After graduation, he took a job at an advertising agency. In 1977 he won the prestigious Mr. H Award (for new poets) for Little Voyage 26 . He also won the twenty-first Takami Jun Prize in 1991, and the twenty-fifth Contemporary Poetry Award in 2007.
Masamitsu Saito was born in 1958 in a seaside town along Kujyukuri Beach in Chiba, so he grew up to the sound of waves. He studied graphic design at Tama Art University. His work can be found in magazines and books, as well as on chocolate packages.
Author Notes
Kiyomi Konagaya was born in 1936 in Shizuoka, Japan. At university, he studied English Literature and published his poetry in literary magazines. After graduation, he took a job at an advertising agency. In 1977, he won the prestigious Mr. H Award (for new poets) for Little Voyage 26. He also won the 21st Takami Jun Prize in 1991, and the 25th Contemporary Poetry Award in 2007.
Masamitsu Saito was born in 1958 in a seaside town along Kujyukuri Beach in Chiba, so he grew up to the sound of waves. He studied graphic design at Tama Art University. His work can be found in magazines, on chocolate packages, and the like. He also has been involved in the field of interior design and has illustrated many books.
Reviews (4)
School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-"I'm at the beach! Yippee!" exclaims a young boy as he races toward the water clutching his yellow tube. Readers will savor the day with him as he experiences the joys and surprises of his environment, mainly through his feet. Those feet leap into the air to escape the burning sand, relax as a cold wave makes "sandy ripples" that "tickle...toes," and discover a shell to explore. And when the boy tires of splashing in the waves and wiggling his toes in the surf, he floats on his tube and can "feel the sun on [his] feet....Toasty and warm." The brief text consists mostly of short sentences and phrases and perfectly captures the voice of a young child, alive with exuberance and joy. The pastel crayon drawings are full of movement, depicting waves erupting in white foam or washing along the shore in squiggly ripples. Focusing on the child, most often from the waist down, Saito provides unusual perspectives: two oversize feet swishing in bubbling waves, two large soles facing readers as the boy basks in the sun. This is a perfect summer read that will have youngsters yearning to grab their bathing suits and rush down to the beach to join this charming playmate.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Short, sweet, and staccato, the words of this Japanese collaboration focus on one child, one summer excursion, and one very particular set of feet. So evocatively does poet Konagaya observe the experiences of feet at the beach, and so vividly does artist Saito record them, that to read this book is to be transported straight to the seaside. "Ow, ow, ow!" cries a mop-haired child who could be a girl or boy, dashing across hot sand. "I have to run quickly into the water." With a yellow tube gripped tightly just above the waist, the child approaches the waves. "Ahhh, the wet sand feels good. Cool and soft." With energetic pastel lines, Saito draws feet on moist sand. Wild, white spray and blue bubbles wash past, and adorable toes wiggle in the foreground as the child pushes through the next wave. Casual scribbles evoke the movement of the water, its chilly blue depths, and the rocking of the waves. Big forms provide motion and action, while the artwork gives the pages a sense of velvety luxury. A small-scale creation that yields unexpected richness of experience. Ages 3-7. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Here's something original: a book-length meditation on how a preschooler experiences sand ("Ow, ow, ow!"), a wave, and other aspects of the beach. The voice doesn't always sound childlike, but the kid's wonder seems completely authentic. The art is as unconventional as the book's concept--the child's face isn't shown until the end, presumably because his toes are much more expressive. (c) Copyright 2012. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
In this newest installment in the Being in the World series, Japanese collaborators Konagaya and Saito offer a lovely account of a day in the life of a child at the beach. Cover art depicts pudgy toes scrunching down into the sand, and the book opens to a first-person, stream-of-consciousness text detailing the child's seaside experience. It's never clear whether this child is a boy or a girl, but this doesn't matter, as from page to page those feet from the cover art feel the heat of sun-baked sand, the coolness of the ocean waters, and the hard pressure of a seashell underfoot. Succinct, moment-by-moment narration delivers the child's experiences in brief snippets of text that exult in the sensuous experiences of the surroundings. Throughout, Saito's pastel illustrations make the most of cool and warm shades to convey the juxtaposition of water and sand and sun, while spontaneous line work depicts the exuberance of the child's movements and the ebb and flow of the sea. Together, words and pictures combine to create a slice-of-life picture book that is more about setting than character and less a story than it is a mood piece. A quietly sublime depiction of a child at play by the sea. (Picture book. 2-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
