The Beach

Spending the day at the beach is Emmy's ultimate adventure. She loves everything about the beach: the waves, the sand, the wind, the sun, the seashells, the crabs... We recently returned from a family vacation in the Outer Banks, NC where she frolicked for hours on the beach. Now that we live 15 minutes from the beach, we can enjoy the wonder of the ocean any time we want.

There are many books written about the ocean that are wonderful to read, but once I came across this book.....well, in my opinion, there just aren't any others that compare. Suzy Lee has created a masterpiece of children's literature titled Wave. This book captures the universal childhood experience of spending the day at the beach. Without words, the sprawling illustrations tell the story of a little girl encountering the ocean with carefree adventure - timid at first and then full blast. With watery splashes and splatters of blue the ocean beckons the child and the reader to play. Lee's spreads of the beach use very little color (black, white, grey and blue), but are full of impact. We are right beside the girl as she taunts the wave and then becomes drenched in it's wake leaving behind the most wondrous gifts - lovely shells, starfish and pebbles. Emmy and I enjoy the secret goodbye the girl gives to the wave as she is guided by her mother back up the beach.