Ocean Day - Hardcover

PreSchool-Grade 3-- A collection of attractive full-color photographs accompanies a simple text that describes a young girl's affection for the beach. Unfortunately, Emily appears a mere binder to hold the photos together. Most were taken on a dune-backed sandy shore, but several show a fir-lined rocky coast and the inhabitants of a tide pool. One, of a beach rose bush in full bloom, is mislabeled a beach plum. Another, of the sand-breaded head of a dead fish, is accompanied by an odd bit of text. Asking why the fish is there, Emily is told by her mother, "Tides come and go. The ocean gives and takes." This is in keeping with the general aura of the book, which is more mom-ish than childlike. --Patricia Manning, Eastchester Public Library, NY
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.

This photo essay will surely whet the appetites of winter-worn children longing for summer beaches. Rotner's crystalline, textured photos call to mind the rocky, grainy coast with its windswept patterns and bubbling foam and its exotic creatures--starfish, blue mussels, sea urchins, crabs. With a lean and sometimes poetic text ("Emily asked her mom why a fish was lying on the beach. Her mother said, 'Tides come and go. The ocean gives and takes.' "), little ones are allowed to drink in the photographs. This eyeful of summer light, shadow and color seems so true-to-life kids can almost taste the air and feel the sand between their toes--and then beg for a trip to the beach. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc.