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Young Reading: Summer reading good for a splash
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Published: June 22, 2008
Updated: 06/21/2008 09:00 pm
Enhance the pool and beach for your young reader with picture books about the very best part of summer: swimming!
THE BEACH BALL. By David Steinberg. Penguin. Ages 2-4. $6.99.
" ‘Shhhhhh,' say the waves/As the tide rolls in./ ‘Are the people all gone?/Let the BEACH BALL begin!' " And so starts the very colorful counting book perfect to slip into the towel bag. Pages have shiny blue texture for the waves with cartoonish-looking animals and sea creatures. My favorite? The six otters taking a surfboard for a "topsy-turvy ride."
THE BOY WHO WOULDN'T SWIM. By Deb Lucke. Houghton Mifflin. Ages 5-9. $16.
Poor Eric Dooley. It's a sweltering summer, but he still won't go into the pool. His fear keeps him poolside on a chaise longue while everyone else -- all of his neighbors, his mother and sister, his best friends -- cool off in the blue, blue water of the pool. Instead, he pouts while wearing his inflatable yellow and red-polka-dotted giraffe float as his sister Jessica gets a swim lesson from their mom.
He yells "baby pee" to evacuate the pool so everyone will be just as hot and miserable as he is. Instead, he ends up with a time-out and everyone ignoring the rest of his attempts to thwart their fun. Finally Eric musters up his courage and turns into a super swimmer. Not only are the premise and text wildly entertaining, but also the vivid illustrations are colorful and a hoot, especially after seeing the book-jacket picture of the author's little brother -- the "real" Eric who wouldn't swim!
WAVE. By Suzy Lee. Chronicle. All ages. $15.99.
If you are a grown-up who secretly buys picture books claiming that they are "for the grandchildren" who may or may not be in your life yet, this book is for you. Wordless yet powerfully evocative, Wave depicts a young girl on a beach with seagulls. Using only two colors, Suzy Lee manages to show a delightful day as the young girl first confronts waves and then frolics in them. Straightforward yet stunning.
ALISTAIR AND KIP'S GREAT ADVENTURE! By John Segal. Simon & Schuster. Ages 3-6. $15.99.
"It was Tuesday morning. Alistair was bored." Alistair is a cat that does not like to be bored. He recruits Kip, his best friend and a beagle, to help him build a boat. Kip is not quite as adventuresome as Alistair but follows his friend anyway as they row "down the creek, to the river, into the bay . . . and out to sea."
Tossed out of their little boat, the pair journey deep underwater where they meet all sorts of creatures until they land on an island. The island turns out to be -- gulp -- a whale. The friendly whale takes them home, where Alistair begins planning their next adventure . . . in a homemade airplane!
This is the page-turning type of tale kids love to have read to them, and I liked how the illustration of different kinds of boats provided an element of marine education, as did the explanation of how creeks connect to the ocean. Great read for inquisitive young minds.
THE SEA SERPENT AND ME. By Dashka Slater. Houghton Mifflin. Ages 4-8. $17.
Seriously, did you know that Aug. 7 is National Sea Serpent Day? Houghton Mifflin even has a kit to help you plan and stage a summery sea-serpent party.
It's at (www.houghtonmifflinbooks.com/booksellers/press_rel...), just in case you are looking for creative things to do this summer. Plus, the book itself is pretty darn cute, a bit reminiscent of The Water Horse, if you want to incorporate a movie into your sea-serpent party. In this book, a young girl discovers a sea serpent in her bathtub. They create all sorts of imaginative adventures together until he grows too large for both her tub and land. Lyrical, lovely and a bit loopy -- perfect for summer reading.
MANFISH: A Story of Jacques Cousteau. By Jennifer Berne. Chronicle. Ages 4-9. $16.99.
As a child, I sat in front our television captivated by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau. His shows were second only to the Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom for me. Cousteau's underwater bravery, combined with his distinctive accent, propelled him into heroic status as far as I was concerned. Jennifer Berne's picture-book biography captures all that mesmerized me as a child, and I am so glad that young readers are being introduced to this superhero of the sea.
■ Monica Young can be reached at cyoung9@triad.rr.com.
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